Podcasts about litrpg

With Stan out this week, we've got regular guest host and true tactics-head Jason back on to discuss Star Wars: Zero Company. But before that, we go over the now-viral LitRPG sensation Dungeon Crawler Carl. There is probably some real crossover potential here, right? Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com Get 25% Cashback after 3 months of service with ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN Timestamps: 0:01 - We wake up in the morning 5:28 - This week's show 8:11 - Dungeon Crawler Carl 24:45 - DCC as LitRPG 28:40 - Is DCC funny? 37:10 - Some final thoughts 38:47 - Star Wars: Zero Company 49:48 - How we are liking Zero Company 55:35 - How to think about tactics games 1:06:08 - Wrapping up Links from this week's episode: Dungeon Crawler Carl: https://mattdinniman.com/books/dungeon-crawler-carl/ Star Wars: Zero Company: https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/zero-company Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name? email us: thedivedown@gmail.com

Text the Bookcast and say "hi"!I got to hang out at WriterCon in OKC for a couple of days where I spent time talking with authors about their work. This episode is a compilation of those conversations with each author giving a 60-second talk about one of their books.In this episode, you'll hear from 20 authors from all over the country. Everything from children's books to mysteries to thrillers to LitRPG. You're sure to find a book or two to love.Sign up for the Read LOKal NewsletterFeatured Authors and Books:DM Zultowski - Deer in the Fields of VeniceGJ Springer - The Match ProgramJulie Caldwell - Secret of the AcolytesJeff Provine - Haunted OklahomaJJ Johnson - Surviving the Midnight Hurl at Camp WhurlAmy M. Le - From Broken to Brave: Memoir of a Heart WarriorRebecca Cole - Delilah's Song and Delilah's SecretC. Louis S.  - Pizza Planet: Secret of the Fire JelliesJosh C. Jones - DESTINY: Rich or Poor, Life or Death, Choose Your DestinyRyan Andrew Brandt - SanctuaryMark Edward Jones - Wrong Day to QuitCarter Bell - When Salt BloomsRob Harmon - The Shepherdess of KharosDianne McDonald Clark - Murder by MoonlightTyler Lenz - Non-Player CharacterTerry Godfrey - The Little GunTodd Ockert - The Reckoning of Chaos and MagicEileen Hobbs - The Girl from KornPaul Gomez - PTSDConnect with J: website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | FacebookShop the Bookcast on Bookshop.orgMusic by JuliusH

In this week's episode, I take a look back over the last fifteen years and recount how I learned to write quickly. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Ghost in the Stone, Book #5 in the The Ghosts series, (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) at my Payhip store: FALLSTONE The coupon code is valid through September 28, 2026. So if you need a new audiobook this fall, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 320 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is September 11th, 2026, and today I'm discussing how I learned to write fast. Before we get to all that, we will have Coupon of the Week and a progress update on my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Ghost in the Stone, Book #5 in The Ghosts series (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) at my Payhip store. That coupon code is FALLSTONE. As always, we will include the links and the coupon code in the show notes for this episode. This coupon code will be valid through September 28th, 2026. So if you need a new audiobook this fall, we have got you covered. Now let's have an update on my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. For Blade of Visions, which is my main project right now, the rough draft is done, the first editing pass is done, and I'm hoping to start on the second editing pass as soon as I finish recording this episode. So if all goes well and nothing unexpected happens, I very much hope that the book will be out a week from when this episode goes live. So a week from whenever you listen to this, check your favorite ebook store and hopefully Blade of Visions will be there. And of course you can always listen to this podcast and watch my website and social media for other announcements. My secondary project is Elven-Warlock, the seventh book in the Rivah Half-Elven series. I am currently 16,000 words into that. As soon as Blade of Visions is published, Elven-Warlock will then be my new main project and if all goes well, I hope to have that out in October sometime. In audiobook news, as I mentioned last week, Blade of Thieves and Cloak of Worlds should now be available at all the different audiobook stores. Hollis McCarthy is currently recording Cloak of Summoning and we should have some updates on that soon. In a bit of exciting audiobook news from that or related to that, I should mention that Hollis McCarthy was announced as a finalist for Narrator of Distinction for the Professional Audiobook Narrators Association for her work on Cloak of Embers, which was Cloak Mage #10. So if you get a chance, be sure to congratulate Hollis for that if you hang out on my social media pages. So that's where I'm at with my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. 00:02:25 How I Learned to Write Fast Now let's move on to my main topic, how I learn to write fast. Occasionally I will see a new indie author looking with dismay at how much time it takes to write and expressing the opinion that it must be impossible to write a million words a year without the aid of generative AI. Ha, no. I should point out that I wrote a million words in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 and back then the current AI tech bros were still searching for the big scam that would one day make them rich. They tried crypto and NFTs in the interim. ChatGPT would not be inflicted upon the world until the end of 2022. Admittedly, I didn't write a million new words in 2021, 2022 and 2023, but that was from a combination of personal issues taking up time and illness. I still hit between 800,000 and 900,000 in those three years. In 2024 and 2025, I wrote a million new words. I might or might not hit a million new words in 2026, and it largely depends on how the rest of the year goes. I had to take a lot of time off in spring and summer, and that really slowed me down. I did hit 700,000 words once Blade of Visions was done, so we'll see what happens the remaining four months of the year. But yes, if you're writing full-time, a million words in a year is certainly achievable, though as with all things it takes practice and can be subject to events. With that in mind, I thought I would explain how I was able over time to ramp up to writing a million new words in a year. It was less something I set out consciously to do when I started this in 2011 and more a step-by-step evolutionary process that took several years. By the grace of God, I have been indie publishing for almost 15 and a half years now. So here's the process of how I ended up writing a million words in a year. #1: Tech Writing Back in the second half of the 2000s, I used to do a lot of tech blogging, mostly about Linux, and I also did tech support, which frequently involved writing FAQs and guides for how to connect your Blackberry or Windows Mobile device to the company email or whatever. In retrospect, Blackberry and Windows Mobile were both terrible operating systems, so it's not surprising the iPhone and later Android blew them out of the water. Anyway, tech blogging taught me the value of writing quickly. Back then, you could still make money off Google AdSense, and so if I could write quickly on a tech topic, I could post it, get Google traffic, and then make a little bit of money from Google Ads. Writing FAQs and guides also taught me the value of writing as concisely and as clearly as possible. President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said of public speaking that the best approach to public speaking was "be sincere, be brief, be seated", and that's also true of technical guides. Back then, I was working on novels as well, specifically what would end up becoming the first three Caina books, but I never wrote more than a thousand words a day of fiction unless I was bored or I was really inspired, neither of which happened all that often. #2: Soul of Serpents By the end of 2010, I had sworn off trying to get traditionally published and decided to focus on tech blogging, but then I got my first Kindle after Thanksgiving in 2010, and I realized there had to be a way to make money off this thing. This led me to discovering Kindle Direct Publishing, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and the other early self-publishing platforms. I published Demonsouled, Soul of Tyrants, and the first three Caina books, and then I decided I'd write one more Demonsouled book to finish off the story. It always annoyed me to no end that I'd never gotten to write a sequel to Soul of Tyrants, but now that the opportunity was here, I decided that I would have a Demonsouled trilogy and Soul of Serpents would be the last novel I would ever write, which goes to show I may not be that great at telling the future. Soul of Serpents was the first book I ever wrote specifically intended for self-publishing instead of submitting it to legacy publishers. I wrote it over the summer of 2011, and I figured if I wrote 1,500 words a day, I could get the rough draft of the book done by the end of the summer, which I did, and I ended up publishing it at the end of August of that month. That was also why I made Demonsouled and Child of the Ghosts free for the first time, which meant that their sequels started to sell a little bit. I was actually beginning to make a little bit of money off my novels for the first time in my life, which was very exciting. It also meant that I wanted to continue the Demonsouled series past the third book, which leads us to the next phase of our story. #3: Soul of Dragons In the second half of 2011, I was extremely busy. I had a full-time job and I had a part-time job that required a lot of off-the-clock preparation. Despite that, I was determined to write Soul of Dragons, so I pushed onward when I could. This was when I began writing during my lunch break for the first time, but I often didn't get to my 1,500 words a day during lunch. So by the time I got home at the end of the day, which was frequently between 9:00 and 10:00 PM, I would frequently squeeze in my remaining words (sometimes all my words), before I went to sleep, only to wake up at 5:45 AM to go to the gym. This level of workload, as you can imagine, was absolutely exhausting, and I don't recommend it, but I still did it. I think it was necessary to learn to write a novel under a state of extreme strain since that was good practice for the 160 books that would follow Soul of Dragons. If I wrote only when I was perfectly calm and there was nothing else demanding my time or attention, I would never get any writing done at all. I really hate to give career advice to younger people since so much of the advice they receive these days is obsolete at best and malicious and condescending at worst. In economic terms, 2026 might well be another planet compared to 1976 or 2000, but sometimes in life you really do have to put in a maximum effort over a sustained amount of time (even if it's approaching midnight, you have to get up in five hours, and you still have 500 words to go before you can sleep). That said, if at all possible, I would advise only putting in that kind of effort if you're working for yourself and not for an employer that will lay you off the instant the stock price dips slightly. It took a while, but I did it. Soul of Dragons came out in February of 2012 and sold pretty well. By this time, the books were selling well enough that while I didn't want to go full-time, they were providing a nice cushion against the unexpected vagaries of life. My full-time employer was also heading towards trouble, so I decided to keep writing. #4: Ghost in the Storm My next book in early 2012 after finishing Soul of Dragons was Ghost in the Storm. Like with Demonsouled and Soul of Tyrants, I was always disappointed that I never got to continue Caina's story past the end of Ghost in the Blood, and so I was excited to start Ghost in the Storm. Little did I know that Caina's story would continue for another 30 books past that. I wanted to write faster, so I settled on a goal of 3,000 words a day for Ghost in the Storm. I would write as much as I could in the morning, then over my lunch break, and then finish my 3,000 words, hopefully in the evening before I went to bed. I very distinctly recall that in March of 2012, I was in the process of moving to a new apartment. I bought a couch and scheduled it to be delivered that morning at about 10:00 AM. So I took the morning off, brought my laptop and a folding chair to the empty apartment and wrote, and I kept writing and writing, and the couch never showed up. Finally, in exasperation, I had run out of my hours off, so I had to go to work only to get the call at 4:00 PM that the couch guys had finally showed up and needed me to let them in. I begged them to stay where they were, broke the speed limit to get back to the apartment, and arrived just as they were walking back to their truck. Thankfully, I was able to convince them to deliver the couch. As annoying as that day turned out to be, it worked out well because I got the new couch and I also wrote a bunch of Ghosts in the Storm, which ended up coming out towards the end of April 2012. #5: Ghost Aria In summer 2012, I wrote Soul of Sorcery, which was a huge book that took a long time to write, but it was also the first book I ever wrote that made it to any bestseller list of any kind on amazon.com, which was a pleasant milestone. After Soul of Sorcery, I started working on Ghost in the Stone and finished it up in early 2013. For both Soul of Sorcery and Ghost in the Stone, I had stuck to 3,000 words a day. By then, I had started working more on marketing, so I had an email newsletter. It had occurred to me that giving something away for free in the newsletter might be a great way to drive newsletter engagement, and I'd always liked writing short stories back in the 2000s. So why not write a bonus short story related to the book and give it away for free? So that was where Ghost Aria came from. It was the first short story I gave away for free with my newsletter. Since then, I've written hundreds of short stories and given away tens of thousands of them, so I think it was a good decision. #6: Dual projects In 2015, I had the opportunity to write a tie-in novel for a game product, which I wanted to do, yet I hesitated because I was working on Ghost in the Inferno at the time, and I knew Ghost in the Inferno would actually sell and make some money. The tie-in book was a roll of the dice, but it was a good enough opportunity that I wanted to take it, or so it seemed at the time, but I didn't want to stop working on Ghost in the Inferno, so I did both. Ghost in the Inferno was my main project, and the game book was my secondary one where I squeezed out a couple hundred words a day. Once Ghost in the Inferno was done, I finished the game book relatively quickly. Of course, nothing ever came of it. The game company and the book company fell out and then respectively went out of business, and the game tie in book never saw the light of day. I would've been better off not writing the tie in novel, except I gained a valuable skill from the experience. Before that, I had only ever worked on one fiction project at a time. Now I had taught myself to do two at once. Ever since then, I have followed my primary/secondary project model while trying to get as many words down as possible in my primary project, but I also write 250 words or so of my secondary project before I go to the gym in the morning while I'm having my coffee. So when I finish my primary project, I'm usually about 10,000 to 20,000 words into my secondary project, which gets promoted to my new primary project. For example, Blade of Visions is almost done, but my secondary project, Elven-Warlock, is currently at 16,000 words, so that gives everything a nice little speed boost. I suppose this is yet another example of the lesson that if you're going to work really, really hard on something, if possible, you should be working for yourself and not on spec for someone else. Anyway, the primary/secondary project system has been really helpful to me, especially after I went full-time, which we will discuss next. #7: Time for Full-time So that was the paradigm I followed for the next four years from 2012 to 2016. I aimed for 3,000 words a day and mostly kept to it. I usually ended up writing between 500,000 and 600,000 words a year. I finished Demonsouled and The Ghosts and started on Frostborn and Ghost Exile, and then on a whim started writing Cloak Games in 2015 as a secondary project. 27 books later, Cloak Games/Cloak Mage has likewise turned out to be much longer than I thought. Frostborn also really took off in 2016, which was nice. I would've been perfectly content to continue working full-time and writing as a side gig, especially since I no longer had that part-time job because the books were paying better. That said, I knew in the back of my mind I could go full-time if it became necessary, especially if my employer went under or had layoffs. I admit going full-time started to become tempting as I took on more work and responsibilities after the layoffs. From 2012 to 2016, I got up at 4:30 AM every workday so I'd have time to get everything done. Admittedly, that's not a big deal and lots of people have to do that, yet I admit to this day, I still find 4 in the morning the worst time to get up to use the bathroom or to wake up before a long road trip or whatever. Somehow waking up and seeing 4 on the clock just seems so hateful. Ironically, for all the time I spent thinking about layoffs and preparing contingency plans about what I do afterward, I never actually got laid off. In 2016, I ended up needing to move to a new US state for a combination of family and personal reasons, so I had to quit. I thought about finding a new job in the tech field, but decided the time had come to start writing full-time. Since this was now my full-time job, there was no reason not to write as much as possible. In fact, that was probably a good idea if I wanted to eat, and that's when I started to trying to hit a million words a year. #8: The Rest of the 2010s So from 2016 onward, I wrote full-time. I had a million new words in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. I finished Ghost Exile and started Ghost Night, finished Frostborn and Sevenfold Sword and wrote most of Dragontiarna. I finished Cloak Games, started Cloak Mage, and I wrote, I think, the first nine books of Silent Order and also finished Malison. I also started doing self-published audiobooks in 2018 with Child of the Ghosts and Frostborn: The Dark Warden. 2017 was my absolute peak for word count since I hit 1.4 million words that year. Not surprisingly, that was probably my best year of sales ever since I finished Frostborn and started Sevenfold Sword in 2017, but I did hit a million words every year for the rest of the 2010s, including 2020. However, after 2020, there was trouble ahead, and you've probably guessed what it is. #9: Fun with COVID 2020 was a productive year for writing since I reached 1.2 million words and I took some Photoshop classes, which turned out to be really valuable in terms of cover design and creating marketing and ad images. It's pretty rare that I don't use Photoshop for something at least once a day now. However, as it would turn out, my big long-term problem was that the gyms in my local area closed for a long time during COVID, and I never found an adequate replacement for them. I ended up gaining a bunch of weight (with all the related health concerns that causes). In 2021, I only reached 974,000 words. Not a big deal. I thought. I'll hit a million next year. However, that didn't work as well because for a variety of personal health reasons in 2022, I only reached 814,000. I also tried a couple of new things during the early 2020s that really didn't work. In 2021, I published the two Cormac Rogan books, which people liked, but it really didn't have an audience. In 2022, I published the first book of what would become the Stealth & Spells Online trilogy, and that didn't sell very well because I misread the audience for LitRPG. Essentially, the LitRPG market wants Isekai/portal fantasy or system apocalypse type stuff, and I've written a science fiction thriller with LitRPG elements. Then in 2023, I actually got COVID, and that just laid me flat for six weeks. I barely got any work done in May and about half of June, and I realized I was going to have to make some changes. #10: Rivah Half-Elven to the Rescue First of all, I realized that I was doing too much by myself. I thought about stopping audiobooks and the podcast entirely, but instead I hired an audiobook proofer and a transcriptionist/researcher to help with that. Second, I still wanted to try something new. Cormac Rogan and Stealth & Spells hadn't worked all that well, but in April of 2023, I'd written about 8,000 words of what would become Half-Elven Thief. When I got sick over the summer, I stopped working on it to focus on finishing Dragonskull and the Silent Order series, but at the end of 2023, I dusted off the Word file, finished it, and published it in December of 2023. It had a substantially stronger first month than Stealth & Spells, so it was time to embark on the Half-Elven Thief series. #11: The Super Summer of Finishing Things I also realized that I gotten too scattered with five ongoing series at once. I decided to cut it down to three. So in the summer of 2025, I finished The Shield War, Stealth & Spells Online, and Ghost Armor. My ongoing series would be Blades of Ruin, Cloak Mage, and Half-Elven Thief. I wouldn't start on a new series until I finished one of these. From summer 2023 onward, things improved a good deal over 2021 through 2023. Audiobooks were a lot easier to do with an audiobook proofer to do the final listen, so I've done quite a bit more of those. From 2024 to 2026, I got my weight back down to a pre - COVID level with a lot of calorie counting and exercise (aided by sublimating the desire to snack into blowing up space pirates in Starfield). I did hit a million new words in both 2024 and 2025. As I mentioned, I'm not sure if I will hit a million words in 2026 or not. As I said earlier, I had to take a lot of time off this year, and it will depend on how the rest of the year goes, but I think 900,000 will be definitely achievable. #12: So What Have We Learned From All of This? As you can see, while I can write a million words a year, it took a long time to learn how to do it and a lot of practice, and if enough other things demand time and attention in a year, it's not going to happen. I think the biggest keys to writing as many words as possible in a year are persistence and tenacity. There will be many times you don't want to write, like at midnight when I still had 500 words to go on Soul of Dragons before I could go to bed, but you will need to push through and get to it. Maybe you cut back a little on time-wasting activities like TikTok, doomscrolling, and TV, especially TikTok. It is distressing to see people repeating the nonsense they see on TikTok as absolute fact. Or maybe you learn to type on 15-minute bursts in your phone in those odd blocks of time like waiting rooms or being on hold that would otherwise go to waste. I have read interviews with several people who wrote their novels on their phones while taking the train to and from work. Tenacity is also important. If you wait until circumstances are perfect to write, you will never get anything written. Granted, there are times when writing has to take a backseat to more important things in life. That's okay, that's as it should be. If you can't get a thousand words written, aim for 500. If you miss one day, then tomorrow is another day and you can try again. That is also true over a long time scale as well. If I miss writing a million words in one year, well, tomorrow is another day and next year is another year. And of course, thank you for reading all the books. There'd be no point in writing a million words a year if people didn't read them. So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy, and we'll see you all next week.  

Un éxito de este calibre no podía quedarse fuera del Vuelo, así que aquí tenéis una de las fumadas más hermosamente monumentales de los últimos tiempos. Te dejamos algunas claves: las claves del universo, su tono gamberro y brutal, y los conceptos básicos del LitRPG antes de que empiece el apocalipsis. Esto es Carl el Mazmorrero de Matt Diniman. ¿Estás buscando un taller de terror verdadero? ÚNETE a la Academia Oscura: https://alvaroaparicio.net/taller-literario/ Cinco años metiéndole hachazos a nuestros protagonistas ☄️ Y si este programa te ha gustado: comenta, dale a me gusta, compártelo. Ayúdanos a llegar a más gente. Esto sólo puede existir si estáis al otro lado ☄️ APÓYANOS EN: ☄ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vuelodelcometa ☄ iVoox: https://www.ivoox.com/support/1049191 ☄ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@vuelodelcometa TELEGRAM, WHATSAPP y DISCORD: ☄ WhatsApp (canal de difusión): https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7X0CUIiRorEju6Cy0m ☄ Telegram (canal de difusión): https://t.me/canalvuelodelcometa ☄ Telegram (chat grupal): https://t.me/vuelodelcometacomunidad ☄ Discord: https://discord.gg/ykd4E27Hk REDES SOCIALES: ☄ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vuelodelcometa ☄ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vuelodelcometa ☄ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vuelodelcometa.bsky.social ☄ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@vuelodelcometa ☄ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vuelodelcometa WEB: ☄ Web: alvaroaparicio.net FANTARQUÍA, jornada de fantasía peligrosa: ☄ Necesitamos toda la ayuda posible para que el MUNDO conozca la locura que estamos organizando en Valencia, ¿nos echas una mano? www.fantarquia.es Si quieres contactar con nosotros para una promoción, no dudes en ponerte en contacto a través de: vuelodelcometapodcast@gmail.com Y si quieres apoyar este y otros proyectos relacionados, puedes acudir a https://www.patreon.com/vuelodelcometa o a través del sistema de mecenazgo en iVoox. Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

If you've been in a bookstore recently, chances are good you've seen a table stacked high with thick hardcovers with black covers and neon lettering. So of course, we had to talk about the currently unfolding contemporary phenomenon: the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman! Hannah leads us in a conversation all about LitRPG, transmedia storytelling, and participatory fan culture. Plus, she and Marcelle dig into the stellar audiobook production of the series and why these books are getting men reading. If you've never heard of Dungeon Crawler Carl or you're already a fan, this episode is for you!Related Listening:Fourth Wing x Author FunctionWicked x ParatextsDungeons and Dragons x LudologyWorks CitedDanis, Sam. “Dungeon Crawler Carl creator Matt Dinniman says LitRPG is just getting started.” Audible Blog, 11 February 2025, https://www.audible.com/blog/matt-dinniman-dungeon-crawler-carl-audio-interview. Freeman, Matthew. Historicising Transmedia Storytelling: Early Twentieth-Century Transmedia Story Worlds. New York: Routledge, 2017. GodTaoistofPatience. “[Royal Road] The History of Royal Road, or how a translation site of a niche Korean Novel became one of the pillars of Web Fiction in the West.” Reddit, 19 April 2026, https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/1sq1xd9/royal_road_the_history_of_royal_road_or_how_a/. Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press, 2006. Jenkins, Henry. Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: New York University Press, 2006. Jenkins, Henry. “Rethinking ‘Rethinking Convergence/Culture.'” Cultural Studies 28, no. 2 (2014): 267–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2013.801579. Maas, Jennifer. “‘Dungeon Crawler Carl' TV Series Casts Audiobook Star Jeff Hays as Princess Donut's Voice.” Variety, 23 July 2026, https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/dungeon-crawler-carl-tv-series-princess-donut-jeff-hays-1236819828/. Mulroy, Clare. “LitRPG is hot. Why fans can't get enough of books like 'Dungeon Crawler Carl'.” USA Today, 9 May 2026, https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2026/05/09/best-litrpg-books-dungeon-crawler-carl/89776156007/. Schneider, Michael. “Peacock Gives Series Order to ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl' TV Series From Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door, Chris Yost.” Variety, 18 June 2026, https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/dungeon-crawler-carl-series-order-peacock-1236785705/. ***Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every Friday, we're highlighting a panel from the TBRCon2026 all-virtual sci-fi, fantasy and horror convention, looking back on the incredible variety of discussions that we had the honor of hosting.This week, join moderator/author Paul Todkill and authors Rachel Aaron, Plum Parrot, C. Mantis, Palmer Pickering & Selkie Myth for a panel on "How to Level Up Your LitRPG & Progression Novel."SUPPORT THE SHOW:- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (for exclusive bonus episodes, author readings and more)- Rate and review SFF Addicts- Share us with your friendsEMAIL US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & COMMENTS:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sffaddictspod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FOLLOW SFF ADDICTS:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linktree⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MUSIC:Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Into The Grid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by MellauSFXOutro: “⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Galactic Synthwave⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠” by Divion

Bridget, Caitlin, and Hilda are back to wrap up their discussion on book 1 of "Dungeon Crawler Carl" the latest #booktok sensation by Matt Dinniman. And yes, Princess Donut is still the best character ... but also, there may be a short ACOTAR tangent at the end of the episode, because you know these three can never stay on task. Join our Patreon for exclusive behind-the-scenes content and let's be friends!Instagram > @Booktokmademe_podTikTok > @BooktokMadeMe

In this episode, we sit down with fantasy authors Rachel A. Cooper and Aoife Wai (known as Cooper Wai amongst other pen names) to explore their book Hidden Tiger and dive into the mechanics of progression storytelling. Both authors break down the distinct cultural underpinnings and philosophies that separate Cultivation fantasy from LitRPG, explaining why these two popular sub-genres are related, but fundamentally distinct. As a novice to these genres, your host, Paul, found the whole discussion very enlightening. We also step behind the scenes of the writing journey to discuss the realities of co-authoring, independent publishing, navigating the craft, and how indie authors define genuine success on their own terms. Topics covered: The world of Hidden Tiger. LitRPG vs. Cultivation: the mechanical and cultural differences driving character progression. Tropes to both use and break in the genre to keep the story familiar yet exciting for the reader. Balancing complex magic systems with emotional, character-driven storytelling. The mindset, milestones, and realities of building a sustainable indie author career. Connect with Cooper Wai: Website / Books: https://unchartedbloodlines.com/ Social Media: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/CooperWai) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/aoifewaiandrachelacooper) Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/cooperwai) Discord (https://discord.com/invite/gWUenRY6vK) Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a quick rating or review to help more readers discover great indie stories!

Fragment książki "Tryb Hardkor" - nowe litRPG w stylu Johna Woo i świecie Cyberpunka - do posłuchania na Storytel i innych serwisach.

If you'd like to get these episodes early AND ad-free, please go to https://www.patreon.com/unspoiled and become a patron, or just follow us as a free member for updates!Thank you very much to Michael for commissioning this episode!As Dungeon Crawler Carl draws to a close (for now) it's time for me to pick up another LitRPG series! This is a very different feel though, because while there's leveling and skills and whatnot, these people actually live in this world full-time, and this isn't a game. It's their actual lives. Thank you all so much for listening, and I will see you soon with a new episode!Wanna talk spoilers? Join the Discord! https://discord.gg/rEF2KfZxfV   

Although this book is in a genre they don't normally cover, since everyone on Booktok is talking about it, you know that your favorite booktok girlies had to weigh in on book 1 of "Dungeon Crawler Carl," by Matt Dinniman. Important things to call out as they cover the first 50%: Princess Donut is the best, listening to the audio book is the elite way to consume this series,, and did we mention Princess Donut is the best. I mean Carl is alright I guess, but you know the feline is proud to be the crowning achievement of this series.  Join our Patreon for exclusive behind-the-scenes content and let's be friends!Instagram > @Booktokmademe_podTikTok > @BooktokMadeMe

In this week's episode, we take a look at some of the common scams targeting indie authors and offer tips on how to detect and avoid them. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Ghost in the Blood, Book #3 in The Ghosts series, (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) at my Payhip store: CAINASUMMER The coupon code is valid through August 31, 2026. So if you need a new audiobook this summer, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 316 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is August the 14th, 2026, and today we are discussing common scams targeting indie writers. We also have a Coupon of the Week and a update on my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. So let's start off with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Ghost in the Blood, Book #3 in The Ghosts series (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) at my Payhip store. That code is CAINASUMMER. As always, the coupon code and the links to my Payhip store will be available in the show notes for this episode. This coupon code will be valid through August the 31st, 2026, so if you need a new audiobook for this summer, we have got you covered. Now let's head on to a progress update. As I mentioned last week, Cloak of Frost is done and it's published and you get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, Smashwords, and my own Payhip Store. It is doing quite well. Thank you all for that, and people seem to be enjoying it. So if you haven't checked out Cloak of Frost yet, you can get it at your favorite ebook store. Now that Cloak of Frost is done, my next main project is Blade of Visions, which will be the sixth book in the Blades of Ruin epic fantasy series. I am 28,000 words into that. I think the rough draft will be about 100,000 words, but we will see. Might be a little more, a little less. I'm hoping to wrap it up early in September so that the book can be out to you sometime in the second half of September, if all goes well. In other news, my secondary project now is Elven-Warlock, the seventh Rivah book, and I am 1,500 words into that. If all goes well, I hope to have that out in October. In audiobook news, we have three things coming your way. The first one is Blade of Thieves, which Brad Wills is currently narrating and should be wrapped up before too much longer. Hollis McCarthy is narrating Cloak of Worlds, and I believe we'll be able to start proof listening to that soon, so that should be available before too much longer. I just finished uploading Stealth and Spells Online: The Complete LitRPG trilogy in audiobook form. So, the entire trilogy in one audiobook comes to about 32 hours long. So hopefully that will get through ACX processing before too much longer, and then you can listen to it. So that is where I'm at with current writing and publishing and audiobook projects. 00:02:22 Main Topic: Common Scams for Writers Now let's move on to our main topic, common scams to avoid for writers. Authors, especially new ones, but to be honest, all of us are hungry for praise, recognition, and professional opportunities. They also have a hunger to be the big new publishing phenomenon, ideally as fast as possible. Unfortunately, scammers are very aware of this and use it to prey upon authors. An example I use for this is if you've read the Heir to the Empire books by Timothy Zahn, the villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn, makes a habit of studying his opponent's artwork to discover their psychological blind spots. Then he tailors his strategies around those psychological blind spots. Now, the reason I mentioned this is that scamming or falling victim to a scam is not necessarily an indication of base intelligence or savviness. Everyone has their psychological weak spots. If a scam hits your psychological weak spot at the right time when you're in the right state of mind when you're tired or sick or have had some additional bad news recently, that might hit. For myself, the scams I've nearly fallen victim to have been ones based around bad news because I'm essentially a very pessimistic personality, so I always kind of half expect bad news. One example was I got a fake email allegedly from Spotify saying that my tax information was wrong for my Spotify audiobooks and that needed to be fixed immediately. This was one I could have fallen for because it arrived during tax time. As we know, tax time is often very onerous and unpleasant and involves a lot of work and digging through papers. So I was inclined to believe it, but still, fortunately, I didn't click on any links in the emails. I went directly to the portal, double checked, and then realized it was a scam. Another example was that recently I got a phone call purporting to be from my local police department. I was thinking, "Oh man, this is going to be a mess." I was listening to it and then thankfully before I gave out any information, I realized that it was in fact a scam and then hung up. Just to be thorough, I called the actual local police department and double checked that it was a scam. But again, that played out my psychological weak point of being a pessimist and expecting bad news. I mention this because if you're aware of your psychological weak spots, like many writers, as we mentioned, are hungry for praise or quick opportunities, then you're more likely to be aware of scams. The other thing I should mention in sort of the introduction here is that thanks to the rise of ChatGPT and Gemini and Claude and all the other LLM slop machines, it's become a lot easier to scam people than it used to be before. I heard it said that Web 1.0 was a static content. Web 2.0 was interactive content like social media. Web 3.0 is scams in the forms of NFTs, cryptos, and LLMs. For example, as I mentioned, I just recently published Cloak of Frost. Since I published Cloak of Frost, I've gotten like 20 scam emails that for the most part read like this: "Dear Jonathan, I'm Stephanie Davis and the thing that caught my attention about Cloak of Frost was how quickly an obligation Nadia would rather avoid turns into a situation where the fate of earth is suddenly on the line. She's supposed to be attending the Winter Frost Games. Then an old friend arrives being chased by clone soldiers with a mysterious magical artifact and suddenly this isn't just another duty for the Marshall of the High Queen of the Elves. The fact that losing the game can mean earth burns gives the whole premise a wonderfully sharp sense of consequence. I partner with Around the World in 80 books, a vibrant community of readers who enjoy discovering books from different authors." It goes on and on in this vein. Since Cloak Frost came out six days ago, I've gotten 20 different emails along those lines, all of them clearly generated by LLMs. In fact, I didn't have to save that email. I just opened up my inbox, picked the most recent one, and that was it. Of course, if I responded, what would've happened would've been a few more emails and eventually they would ask for payment for attending their book festival and I would provide payment and then they would promptly disappear off the face of the earth and go on to target someone else. So you can see how that kind of scam would be dangerous. Imagine you're a brand new author who's just published your first book and doesn't know all that much about ChatGPT and the other LLM slop generators out there and you get an email like that, you'd think you'd won the lottery and you'd be very susceptible to giving payment to the scammer. So today, that's why we're going to go over a few of the more common scams out there and provide some general tips for spotting a scam. #1: Publishing Packages You will frequently be contacted by scamming companies offering to help you publish, market, and work on social media for your book. Some of them will even have official sounding names like Amazon Author Hub or Amazon Book Publisher, which are using the Amazon name but not affiliated with Amazon. It's very, very important to be skeptical of these types of publishing companies in general. At best, most of these publishing services companies greatly overcharge for basic services. At worst, they're outright thieves and scammers. David Gaughran has written about these types of publishers if you're interested in learning more. Writer's Weekly's website keeps a running list of confirmed scam publishers and publishing services, but even if they're not on a list and you find reviews that seem to be good, it's best to be extremely skeptical. It's very easy to accumulate fake Google reviews. For example, without naming names, a local business that I used to frequent recently changed owners a couple months ago. And before that, the local business had two five-star reviews. Since the new owner came in, suddenly there's like 500 five-star reviews popping up, all of them having a variety of names that do not seem like they come from the geographic region in which I live. So what he probably did was use a ChatGPT type service to automatically write a bunch of fake reviews for his business. A lot of these scammy companies can do that as well, so it's best to be very skeptical about this kind of thing. #2 Fake conference/book festival/book club speaking invitation This scam is incredibly common, but comes in a variety of types. You will be contacted by a book club/conference/book festival coordinator saying that they love, love, love your book and offer some praise or comments about it and then invite you to their event. The scam part will also come in after you accept when they will want money for this privilege. It's bad to work for free, but it's also very foolish to pay money to show up for a professional event, especially one located outside your immediate area. The email I read earlier in the show is a good example of one of these. You notice the danger of these comes in because they're using ChatGPT for these. ChatGPT can ingest your book or the book description and then spit out some seemingly plausible praise that makes it seem like the scammer has read your book, but they actually haven't. So I'd be very, very, very wary of any unsolicited conference or book festival invitations, especially ones that are fulsome in their praise for your book. #3: Fake or scammy beta readers/editors/agents Many people will cold email you asking to be hired. They might cite actual typos they can fix in your book, specific connections they can make for you, and praise your book as the next big thing. In reality, reputable and established people in these positions usually have long wait lists for their services. They're not wandering the Internet for just-established authors to add to their client lists. It's far more effective to find reputable and established people in these areas and contact them yourself instead of taking up offers from whoever randomly emails you. One thing I've found both as a writer and as a homeowner is that really good contractors don't need to cold call people to look for business. Really good contractors are so busy that you have to call them and try and get on their schedule. The same thing can be said of beta readers, editors, and agents. #4: Impersonation of famous authors John Grisham, Brandon Sanderson, and your favorite romance writers are not actually randomly emailing random minor authors, telling them that their book shows real promise and might be the next big thing. Don't let praise from a famous name take down your guard. Anyone can pretend to be anyone on the internet and is increasingly easy for pretending to look very real. For example, earlier this year I received an email from British author Hilary Mantel praising one of my books. This is especially remarkable because I got the email, I believe in March of 2026, and Hilary Mantel died in 2022. So while my ego would like to believe that my book was so good that Hillary Mantel returned from death to praise it, I think it is more likely instead that a scammer was impersonating Hilary Mantel using a Gmail account. There have been frequent examples of this over the past year or so as ChatGPT and LLM usage becomes more widespread. People will occasionally receive emails purporting to be from Brandon Sanderson offering to work together on a project. However, if you watch Brandon Sanderson's social media, you'll know that he is busy writing the screenplay for the Mistborn movie from Apple. I think it is safe to say he probably does not have time to email random strangers on the Internet asking to work on their books. So if you get an email from a big name author purporting [to say] that they love [your] book and want to work on it with you, it is almost 100% certain that it is a scam. Since scams are constantly evolving and mutating and developing new forms, I'm going to focus the rest of the episode on some general principles of what to watch out for when people are contacting you as an author. #1: Cold emails or cold calls Legitimate editors, agents, cover designers, and even library event coordinators are absolutely inundated with unsolicited emails and most tend to dismiss or ignore what isn't submitted through proper channels (or depending on their position, might even be required to ignore it as part of their job). The hard truth is they're not going to spend their busy workdays hunting around the Internet for authors with 10 reviews or someone writing an obscure topic. Although it's flattering to think that you've been discovered at random, it really, really doesn't work this way, especially as staffing at publishing houses and libraries has been cut down quite a bit due to corporate consolidation and tax cuts. Reputable publishers are not crawling the Internet to find authors unless they have a jaw-dropping sales record (like Dungeon Crawler Carl level sale records). Publishers and agents want guarantees of success and so it doesn't make sense to turn away from their usual group of celebrities, influencers, and blockbuster authors to go out and spend countless hours actively recruiting unknown authors with only a handful of reviews and a sales rank so low that more than one comma is needed to display it. As your following grows, the number of cold emails or messages you get will grow. Like I mentioned before that when I published Cloak of Frost, I've gotten at least 20 of those scam emails so far, and I will probably get at least another dozen or so more before the initial sales spike of the release week dies off. These messages might be more sophisticated, but they'll use the same general tone of ChatGPT flattery to try and lure you into their schemes. Don't let your excitement at being praised or recognized as the next great American novelist or the next BookTok sensation cloud your judgment. #2: Urgency As with any internet scam, urgency is a major part of the strategy. There will probably be a short deadline to accept their offer, a limited number of available spots, or some alleged deep discount for acting quickly. In reality, if people are contacting you because they want something in good faith, they rarely make this type of demand in the initial request because that is a terrible way to get someone to do what you want. For example, in my previous example about the call from the fake local police department, I became increasingly aware that it was probably a scam once it sounded like they were going to offer me the opportunity to pay my fine over a payment portal they would provide for me, in which case it became obvious that it was a scam. Though just to be sure, I still did call the local police department to double check. Now that kind of urgency is used to force you into a decision. Take a step back, look for more information online, contact someone with more expertise than you, and don't respond just because of a time limit or the fear of missing out on a request or offer. And remember, as I said before too, actual contractors, whether you're a writer or a homeowner, are usually so booked up that they don't go around looking for clients. You have to contact them to get on their calendar. #3: Request for payment This is the big one. At no point should you be paying someone unless you have an established relationship with them and have signed a contract with them such as a cover designer or a social media manager. Do not pay random companies or individuals to do absolutely anything. The best defense against companies that offer publishing services is to get educated on what services you actually need and what a reputable person actually charges for them instead of paying for a package with all sorts of grandiose promises attached. In no universe should it cost tens of thousands of dollars to format your books, create a cover, and make a website from a generic template. It's better to pay reputable people individually for these services once they've been vetted than to trust a company to do it, especially if they're primarily using AI generic templates. You'll receive higher quality services this way and it should be cheaper as well. There are no, none whatsoever reputable book clubs, libraries, or conferences that ask for money for a writer to speak or present. A key exception is paying for vendor tables at events and conferences. A community group, library, or nonprofit organization might ask you to speak for free, but no reputable organization will ever ask to pay for the privilege of showing up and doing something for them. #4: Gmail/non-organization emails A big thing to watch out [for] with a lot of these LLM scams is if the email is coming from a Gmail account or not. For example, in the fake author ones I mentioned with Hillary Mantel or Brandon Sanderson, these emails are coming from a Gmail account. Even if Hillary Mantel hadn't died four years ago, I'm pretty sure she would not be emailing random people from a Gmail account. The same goes for Brandon Sanderson, John Grisham, Matt Dinneman, and the other well-known authors who've been targeted by this kind of scam. John Grisham's favorite editor or the hottest new literary agent are not conducting their business out of random Gmails or accounts that look like domains that are named after alphabet soup. Although accounts can easily be spoofed, a blatantly unprofessional looking account is an easy way to weed out scammers. The flip side of this is unfortunately, if you are a reputable cover designer, editor or so forth, you're probably going to need your own domain email the same way I have jonathanmoeller.com, given how it is increasingly common for scam emails to come from Gmail accounts. #5: Praise that could fit any book or has nothing to do with your book Authors love being praised and the scammers can feed into that easily by throwing your book or a bunch of your book reviews into an LLM to create some targeted compliments. Once you see an example of this type of writing, it becomes extremely easy to spot. For example, this isn't what I've saved. This is literally one that came in as I was recording this episode: "Dear Jonathan, I recently discovered Stealth and Spells Online: The Complete LitRPG trilogy and was immediately drawn to its exciting blend of epic fantasy, virtual reality, gaming, and mystery. The trilogy's fast-paced adventure and immersive world could strongly appeal to LitRPG and fantasy readers." Now, I published the ebook of Stealth and Spells Online: The Complete Trilogy two days ago. It is 290,000 words long. There's absolutely no way anyone could read it that fast and have cogent opinions about it. But if you just throw the book description into a LLM, it can cough up some sincere sounding praise and flattery for you. Likewise, flowery comments that have nothing to do with your book are a great way to spot scammers. Your horror novel should probably not be making anyone think about an important and timely reminder about the importance of being organized during the holidays. So that kind of overwrought praise is usually a good sign that something has been LLM generated. Weirdly, one thing I've noticed is that when I get emails from actual readers who are sincere about what they're saying, there'll usually be typos or bad grammar or so forth. Another telltale spot of LLM-generated scam emails is the utter grammatical perfection of them, not a word or a punctuation mark out of place. whereas if you're getting an email from a real person, there are more likely to be some mistakes. So in general, as scams get more sophisticated, you'll have to be a lot more skeptical than you already are in the internet. As an author, you can eliminate a lot of the scams by taking the time to learn the industry well. Once you know what an average keynote pays at a small bookselling conference, no obscure conference coordinator can convince you to pay $5,000, not including travel expenses, for the privilege of agreeing to do one. Once you know how to format your own book (and I should mention that I formatted Cloak of Frost on a laptop on my couch using a $150 piece of software), no one can convince you to pay them $12,000 to do it. Once you self-publish your first book, you realize that you never need an agent, much less one that wants $40,000 to make you the next J.K. Rowling. Education, caution, skepticism, and a healthy sense of one's place in the greater universe are strong weapons against the most common schemes writers are facing. I hope this episode will have given you greater tools to defend yourself against scams. So that's it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy, and we'll see you all next week.  

Jon and Leigh welcome Cisca Small to 50 Days of Dragon Con for a conversation about Fantasy Literature at Dragon Con and all the ways the track stretches far beyond a single subgenre. We discuss the big umbrella that is Fantasy Literature; a track that boasts panels on classic fantasy, page-versus-screen, space fantasy, science fantasy, and LitRPG. We also discuss track events like Page to Stage and Boinking Beasties. Track links: Fantasy Literature Facebook · Fantasy Literature X/Twitter · Dragon Con Fantasy Literature Track Leave us a voicemail: (813) 321-0884Shop The Unique GeekSuggest a 50 Days Podcast Idea Be sure to check out our Facebook social media thingies. Have a question for the directors or maybe something you want us to try and get info on? Then leave a comment, email us, or call the comment line.Email: 50days[ at ]theuniquegeek.comFacebook: facebook.com/TheUniqueGeekYouTube: YouTube.com/TheUniqueGeek Read the transcript Watch on YouTube The post 50 Days of Dragon Con 2026 – Day 23 – Fantasy Literature first appeared on The Unique Geek.

Talking about LitRPG again today.

Send us Fan MailA genre where characters argue about stats, loot, and XP should not feel this human, but that's the LitRPG surprise, and Dungeon Crawler Carl is the clearest proof. We're back with a new season and we kick things off with a side quest: why this series has exploded, what “LitRPG” actually means, and how Dungeons and Dragons quietly sits underneath the whole engine. If you've heard the hype but still don't get it, we give you the clean definition, the on-ramp, and the reasons it works even if you've never played a tabletop RPG or touched an RPG video game.We also talk about the secret weapon that turns curious listeners into obsessed fans: the Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobooks. Jeff Hays' narration feels like a full cast, and we dig into how voice performance changes the comedy, the pacing, and the emotional beats, especially for Princess Donut. From there we zoom out into the core setup of the story: aliens, a streamed death game, themed dungeon floors, and a progression system that makes every choice feel like a build decision with consequences.Then we get nerdy in the best way: the DnD DNA you can spot in race and class selection, party roles, rest mechanics, healing items, and guild-style teamwork. We wrestle with the creepiest “dungeon master” at the table, the AI, and trade theories on how the series might end and what Carl may be willing to sacrifice. We also hit the TV adaptation news, throw out casting ideas, and wrap with a bigger question: will LitRPG push more people into Dungeons and Dragons the way Stranger Things did, and what does fandom momentum like The Guild Kickstarter tell us about the moment we're in?If you enjoy LitRPG, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Dungeons and Dragons, audiobooks, and the future of tabletop RPG culture, subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a new obsession, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show. Support the show1. Visit our website! www.legendslootandlore.com2. Support the Podcast! Help us do what we love and bring you more great D&D content. legendslootandlore.supercast.com3. Follow us on social!InstagramFacebookTikTok4.  Join our Discord Server!Music by June WestfieldApple MusicSpotifyLogo design by Ryan Denorahttps://www.ryandenora.com/

Another San Diego Comic-Con, another year The Guys watch from afar.  (It's not too early to sponsor a 2027 trip, wealthy listener!)  But they're still interested in the news, and this event does bring the news.   Here are some of the “news”: new Black Panther, new Ghost Rider, new cosplays, new Doomsday announcements, new trailers, new stars roaming the hallways in costume, and a new first-time whopper of a guest.  Plenty of things for The Guys to ramble on about after they lament a bit because rambling is all they could afford to do.  (Did we mention that we are open to travel sponsors?)   On the homefront, Robbie advocates for his buddy Claude, Art looks forward to the next iteration of Blade Runner, and Jay reads a book in a new genre the kids call LitRPG, and the one he picked is coming to Peacock.  It's a wild episode despite the distance from the San Diego Zoo.   

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.Four best friends, one Vegas casino, and absolutely nothing left to lose — meet the septuagenarian heist crew you didn't know you needed.Bestselling author Julia London joins the show to talk about her genre-bending new release, Rules for Aging and Larceny, a commercial fiction romp about four 70-something women reuniting to pull off one last con — this time against a crypto scammer. Julia also shares four wide-ranging reading recommendations, from a quietly devastating Norwegian translation to the LitRPG series everyone's talking about.

Send us Fan MailReboots are risky, indie horror is thriving, and somehow we end up arguing about whether you'd survive a bear-sized pigeon. We start with a few unhinged warm-ups, then get real about the King Of The Hill revival: what still feels like Hank Hill, what changes actually work, and why voice actor swaps can instantly snap you out of the story. If you care about legacy animated sitcoms, nostalgia TV, or whether a reboot can age characters without losing its soul, we've got plenty to say.Then we pivot into two indie horror standouts and why smaller movies can hit harder than glossy blockbusters. We dig into Obsession, the creepy “wish” device that drives the plot, the lead's fast switches between charm and menace, and how smart lighting lets your imagination do the scariest work. Backrooms takes us into creepypasta territory, where liminal office spaces, internet lore, and slow-building dread turn a simple idea into a full-on fandom machine.After that, it's a grab bag of pop culture and real life: Toy Story 5 and the tension between toys and screens, dad stories from the grocery aisle, a debate over Stephen King's The Long Walk, and a deep dive on Dungeon Crawler Carl as a litRPG audiobook phenomenon. We talk Jeff Hays' narration, why loot-box pacing is addictive, and what a Peacock adaptation needs to get right to survive diehard fans. Wrap it all up with quick hits on Lanterns, Neuromancer on Apple TV, and the Insomniac Wolverine game's gnarly damage tech.Subscribe for more, share this with a friend who loves reboots or horror, and leave a review. What's the one reboot or adaptation you think absolutely got it right?Support the show

(00:00:00) Episode 646: We Welcome The Evil Dead (00:00:01) Phone Call Fail and Band-Aid Troubles (00:02:05) Weather Talk - Colorado vs Arizona (00:03:29) Arnold Schwarzenegger's Sci-Fi Film List Debate (00:13:06) Remembering Sam Neill and Event Horizon (00:19:47) Super Troopers Merchandise and Movie Theaters (00:46:31) The Evil Dead Franchise and Traumatic Scenes (00:48:16) Revisiting the Original Evil Dead (2013) (00:49:45) The Art of Visceral Horror (00:52:18) Evil Dead Rise and Its Impact (00:56:42) Evil Dead Wrath: Speculations and Connections On this week's exciting episode, the guys kick things off with an engaging discussion centered around a carefully curated list of Arnold Schwarzenegger's best science fiction movies that extend beyond the iconic franchise of The Terminator. They delve into the various films that showcase Schwarzenegger's versatility as an actor in the sci-fi genre, exploring titles such as Total Recall, where he navigates a mind-bending narrative filled with twists and turns, and Predator, which combines action and extraterrestrial suspense in a gripping storyline. The conversation not only highlights the unique aspects of these films but also reflects on how Schwarzenegger's performances have left a lasting impact on the genre and influenced countless filmmakers and actors in the years that followed.Following this engaging segment, the guys transition into a thorough and insightful deep dive into the beloved Evil Dead franchise. With the highly anticipated release of Evil Dead Burn hitting theaters soon, they take this opportunity to explore the origins of the franchise, starting from Sam Raimi's original cult classic, which introduced audiences to the terrifying yet darkly comedic world of the Necronomicon and its consequences. They discuss the evolution of the series, including the iconic character of Ash Williams, portrayed by Bruce Campbell, and how the franchise has expanded over the years through sequels, remakes, and spin-offs, each bringing its own unique flavor to the horror landscape. The guys also touch on the innovative filmmaking techniques that have become synonymous with the series, such as the creative use of practical effects and the distinctive camera work that adds to the overall atmosphere of dread and humor.As the episode progresses, Cody shares his excitement with Joe about starting a new LitRPG book series titled He Who Fights with Monsters. He delves into the premise of the series, which blends elements of fantasy, gaming, and adventure, creating a rich narrative that immerses readers in a world where characters level up, face formidable challenges, and navigate complex virtual landscapes. Cody discusses the appeal of LitRPG as a genre, highlighting how it allows readers to experience the thrill of gaming through storytelling, complete with character development and intricate world-building. He expresses his enthusiasm for the characters and plot twists that keep him engaged, and they reflect on how this genre has gained popularity in recent years, attracting a dedicated fanbase that enjoys the intersection of literature and gaming culture.Official Website: https://www.comesnaturallypodcast.comOfficial Merchandise: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/comes-naturally-podcast/iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/kqkgackFacebook: http://tinyurl.com/myovgm8Tumblr: http://tinyurl.com/m7a6mg9Twitter: @ComesNaturalPodYouTube: http://tiny.cc/5snxpy

Dungeon Crawler Carl author, Matt Dinniman, talks about how video games influence his writing, how he got into LitRPG, the next entry in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, as well as adaptation news and his new science fiction thriller, Operation Bounce House.  Matt Dinniman: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2309250/matt-dinniman/  

Send us Fan MailHannah and Laura are welcoming back to the podcast one of their favorite authors, Travis Baldree!!! Travis discusses his most recent release, Brigands & Breadknives, digging into how he finds comedy in his characters and seeing what he can "get away with" in his writing. He also shares some details about upcoming graphic novel editions of his works and what to expect from his new LitRPG.*This episode contains MILD SPOILERS for Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree. *You can follow Travis online at:Website: Travis BaldreeInstagram: @travis_baldreeMedia Mentions:Legends & Lattes by Travis BaldreeBookshops & Bonedust by Travis BaldreeBrigands & Breadknives by Travis BaldreeTales from the Territory by Travis BaldreeFour Bastards and a Baby by Travis BaldreeWidow's Bay---AppleTVSupport the showBe sure to follow OWWR Pod!www.owwrpod.com YouTube: @owwrpodBlueSky: @OwwrPodTikTok: @OwwrPodInstagram: @owwrpodThreads: @OwwrPodSend us an email at: owwrpod@gmail.comCheck out OWWR Patreon: patreon.com/owwrpodOr join OWWR Discord! We'd love to chat with you!You can follow Hannah at:Instagram: @brews.and.booksThreads: @brews.and.booksTikTok: @brews.and.booksYou can follow Laura at:Instagram: @goodbooksgreatgoatsBlueSky: @myyypod

!!!Please subscribe and share!!! Hosted by Daniel Coolbaugh For this episode of Season 5, I had the pleasure of interviewing fantasy, LitRPG, and sci-fi author Andre Jones. We had a great chat about his books, writing inspirations, and his newest release Secrets of the Deep! Make sure to check out his newest release and his book and social links in the space below: Author Website: https://www.alienpress.org/ Author Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AndreJonesauthor/# Author Amazon Profile: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08F3Z7R93?ccs_id=97c33849-7027-40b0-a17e-8ac042c611a6 Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aa_jones_author/ Author Goodread's Profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/20592452.Andre_Jones Podcast Channel Links: Patreon: patreon.com/TFSFP Website: https://thefantasyandscififanaticspod.com/ Youtube Channel Subscription: https://youtube.com/@thefantasyandsci-fifanatic2328 Rss.com: https://media.rss.com/thefantasyandsci-fifanaticspodcast/feed.xml Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aCCUhora9GdLAduLaaqiu?si=cl-8VWgaSrOGDwJg-cKONQ Facebook Group join link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/402724958101648/?ref=share

Welcome to Season 8 for Books Broads and Booze! Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinnaman is a fun and interesting read. Listen to Monica and I discuss this LitRPG.Drink responsibly!Questions and comments may be sent to broadsbookandbooze@gmail.comTheme music by Dee Yan-Kay

ALRIGHT, 'COMBIES! Or maybe I should say, "WELCOME, CRAWLERS!" Joe and Mark are taking it easy in the Hideout today and they're taking the opportunity to nerd out about Tabletop Roleplaying Games and new book series hyperfixations. To join in on the fun, they've got long-time friend of the show, Erik "Heisenberg" Westfall, along for the ride. So come on down as they deep dive on TTRPGs, the LitRPG genre, and the phenomenon that is the book series, Dungeon Crawler Carl, and let's get into it!

Little Sister joins us this week as we talk about 1776, Bad Jokes, Outlander, Game of Thrones, Parade of Horribles, Crowns of Nyaxia, Romantacy, Mel Brooks, Minions, Animaniacs, The Man Who Died Seven Times, The Music Man, Hoppers, LitRPG, Darling of Fate, Iced Tea, Death Has Joined the Party, PlayStation Physical Media, Vegas, Project Phoenix on Kickstarter, and the Xbox layoffs. So get out your pen and call your mom, it's time for a GeekShock!

Evil Dead Burn Welcome back to the podcast where long-running franchises are lovingly dismembered, reanimated, and occasionally set on fire… This week, we're diving chainsaw first? into Evil Dead Burn (2026), the sixth entry in Sam Raimi's gloriously gooey horror legacy. What began in 1981 as the original scrappy, cabin-in-the-woods nightmare has since morphed into a full-blown franchise of splatter, slapstick, and increasingly unfunny trauma. Directed by Sébastien Vaniček and starring Souheila Yacoub, Hunter Doohan, and Luciane Buchanan, this latest instalment swaps out “groovy” one-liners for something a little more… intense. Set around the worst family gathering… perhaps ever… the film promises Deadites, dismemberment and dread. Sadly it delivers a bit more dourness, depression and desultory franchise nods. To unpack it all, it's just the two-man mythology crew this week: Dion and Quinny. No safety net, no Ash Williams—just two bearded men asking the big questions: How much gore is too much gore? Can a franchise lose its sense of fun? And “have you read Dungeon Crawler Carl yet?”  Yep, from Deadites to dungeon runs, Dion and Quinny compare notes on litRPG chaos, talking talking cats, and whether reading 5 books in a week is actually healthy. Official synopsis: After the loss of her husband, a woman seeks solace with her in-laws. As one by one they transform into deadites, she comes to discover that the vows she took in life – survive even in death. https://youtu.be/SYB3duu1gS0 As always, a big bloody thank-you to all you crazy deadites and demons who join in with the conversation on the Twitch stream, live each Tuesday (or wednesday) night at 7:30pm AEST. And an especially huge thanks to any of you chainsaw weilding last-ladies who are kind enough to support us by casting a magical dagger into our jar via Ko-Fi, or subscribing on twitch… every bit helps us to keep the lights on… because we’re still scared of the dark. If you feel so inclined drop us a sub we really love them, The more subby mc-sub-faces we get, the more Emotes You get! https://youtu.be/TnHby2cxJzs?si=ZdvoWJ7bGsdyMlEa WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK! Send in voicemails or emails with your opinions on this show (or any others) to info@theperiodictableofawesome.com Please make sure to join our social networks too!  We're on: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TPToA/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/TPToA Facebook: www.facebook.com/PeriodicTableOfAwesome Instagram: www.instagram.com/theperiodictableofawesome/

JOIN PATREON FOR AD-FREE LISTENING & MORE PERKS: patreon.com/sleepandsorcery   In tonight's literary RPG-inspired sleep story, you are the master of a small, but well-appointed adventurers' guild in the port city of Sleeper's Wharf. You oversee the management of quests and employment of adventurers – but you have also created a welcoming community for would-be campaigners and parties at all levels to advance their skills, practice cooperation, and pay it forward. Being a retired adventurer yourself, you strive to make the guild into the resource you wish you'd had when starting out. But tonight, a quest arises that's so intriguing it might even tempt you out of retirement.   If you're still awake as the story concludes, I'll guide you through a meditation for rest and connection.   THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ME THROUGH 100 ORIGINAL STORIES!   Music & Sound: A Glimpse of Avalon by Flouw, May You Have by Bonnie Grace, Binaural Overlay by Joseph Beg, Via Epidemic Sound   Sleep & Sorcery is a folklore and fantasy-inspired sleep series. My name is Laurel, and I'll be your guide on tonight's fantastical journey. Sleep & Sorcery is one part bedtime story, one part guided meditation, and one part dreamy adventure. Follow along with my voice for as long as it serves you, and when you're ready, feel free to let go of the story and relax into sleep.   All stories are written and read by me, Laurel Hostak Jones… never by AI.     Order the Sleep & Sorcery book! https://www.crossedcrowbooks.com/shop-crossed-crow-books/p/sleepandsorcery Sleep & Sorcery: A Collection of Enchanting Bedtime Stories, Rituals, and Spells for Meaningful Rest, unlimited paperback now available from Crossed Crow Books. Limited edition hardcover is available as well. The book features many of your favorite stories, plus exclusive writings and a suite of rituals to enrich your resting and waking life. Stories like mine are best with headphones! For comfort and security when drifting off to sleep, SleepPhones are the best thing I've found. They won't fall out like earbuds, and they're not bulky or uncomfortable like most over-ear headphones.   Learn more: https://www.sleepphones.com/?aff=846     Now you can support Sleep & Sorcery on Patreon. Pledge a monthly donation to Sleep & Sorcery, which helps me keep making original bedtime stories for you. In return, you can qualify for exclusive supporter benefits, like episode scripts, bonus sleepy readings of classic literature, merch discounts, and giveaways. I hope you'll consider supporting me on Patreon, so I can continue doing what I love.   Visit patreon.com/sleepandsorcery to learn more and pledge your support.     Instagram | Twitter | Insight Timer | YouTube | Newsletter Signup   Sleep & Sorcery MERCH Show your love of Sleep & Sorcery – or get some gifts for the sleepy sorcerer in your life with this cozy collection of apparel, dream journals, die-cut stickers, and home goods. Visit https://bit.ly/shopmyth.   Want to get in touch? sleepandsorcery@gmail.com   Disclaimer: some links in this description are affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission if you decide to purchase the product, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work!   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Send us Fan MailCivilization doesn't fade out. It collapses at 2 AM. Anything with a roof becomes a death trap, and the only “safe” option is a doorway into a world dungeon run by aliens who package human survival as binge-worthy reality TV. We're unpacking Dungeon Crawler Carl (Book 1, Floors 1 and 2) and why it lands as both laugh-out-loud comedy and genuinely unsettling post-apocalyptic sci-fi.We talk through Carl's impossible starting conditions, the tutorial vibes that feel like a video game you can't pause, and the moment the series fully clicks: Princess Donut becomes sentient and instantly starts working the crowd like a born celebrity. From there, we dig into the AI's achievement system, the creepy humor, and the way the book turns “loot and levels” into a weaponized incentive structure. If you've been looking for a LitRPG recommendation or wondering whether the Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobook is worth it, we also get into what Jeff Hays brings to the narration and why the fandom treats it like the definitive version.The conversation gets real when we debate moral survival choices, including Frank and Maggie and the “kill or be killed” paranoia that the dungeon actively encourages. We also sit with the Hoarder scene and what it says about exploitation, audience complicity, and why Carl's anger feels like the beginning of a rebellion. Finally, we geek out over Carl's strategy and game-exploit thinking, plus standout supporting characters like Mordecai, Zev, and Odette.If you're enjoying the show, subscribe, share this with a friend who loves dystopian fiction and game mechanics, and leave us a five-star review so more crawlers can find us.Twitter handles:Project Geekology: https://twitter.com/pgeekologyAnthony's Twitter: https://twitter.com/odysseyswowDakota's Twitter: https://twitter.com/geekritique_dakInstagram:https://instagram.com/projectgeekology?igshid=1v0sits7ipq9yYouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@projectgeekologyGeekritique (Dakota):https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBwciIqOoHwIx_uXtYTSEbASupport the show

Welcome back to Wise_N_Nerdy, where fatherhood and fandom collide for another unforgettable adventure filled with laughs, nostalgia, parenting wisdom, and plenty of geeky discussion! This week's Question of the Week asks a surprisingly thought-provoking question: "Which villain would actually make a great parent?" Charles and Joe explore iconic antagonists who may not be as evil as they seem when it comes to family. From The Vulture and Magneto to Spawn and Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the hosts debate which villains possess the loyalty, sacrifice, and protective instincts that could actually make them outstanding parents. The Roll of the Dice sends everyone first to Parliament of Papas, where the hosts tackle a parenting dilemma involving a father who promised his son a reward worth up to $200 for finishing the school year strong—but now the child has his sights set on the highly sought-after Nintendo Switch 2. Charles and Joe discuss keeping promises, managing expectations, and balancing generosity with practical parenting. Next comes everyone's favorite palate cleanser: Bad Dad Jokes! Bob, Nolan, and Devo unleash a barrage of puns and groan-worthy punchlines guaranteed to make you laugh, cringe, and question why you keep coming back for more. The dice then land on What Are You Nerding Out About? Charles shares his excitement as preparations ramp up for Dragon Con, including his role as one of the convention's official spokespeople and interviewer. Joe, meanwhile, has fallen headfirst into The Primal Hunter series by Zogarth, praising the addictive LitRPG adventure and its immersive audiobook experience. From there, it's time for Daddy, Tell Me A Story, where the hosts reminisce about some of their favorite childhood gaming memories. Charles recalls countless hours spent exploring the groundbreaking world of Half-Life, while Joe fondly remembers battling through the notoriously challenging Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game on the NES. It's a nostalgic celebration of the games that helped shape two lifelong nerds. The episode concludes with How Do I...?, where Charles and Joe discuss one of the most valuable skills in today's information-rich world: How do you choose creators worth learning from? Rather than chasing popularity alone, the hosts explain how they evaluate creators based on expertise, consistency, humility, and demonstrated results, offering concrete examples of the voices they trust and why. Whether you're debating comic book villains, laughing through terrible dad jokes, reliving classic video games, preparing for Dragon Con, or searching for creators who genuinely add value to your life, this episode has something for every fan. Join the conversation, embrace your passions, and Find your FAMdom with the Wise_N_Nerdy community. Wise_N_Nerdy: Where Fatherhood Meets Fandom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 305The knockout stage has arrived, and the stakes have never been higher.This week on the M3P Podcast, we're breaking down every matchup in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32, discussing who we think advances, which teams are on upset alert, and whose World Cup dreams could come to an end.Whether you've followed every match or you're just jumping into the tournament now, this episode is your fan-friendly guide to one of the most exciting stages in world football.We go match by match through the knockout bracket, discussing:

Welcome back to another episode of Being Bookish. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but we're almost halfway through 2026, so it's time for a bit of an update, and I am doing it differently this year! In this wrap-up, I am focusing a lot on expectation versus reality in my personal reading experience. I'm going to share my thoughts on the standout books I cannot stop thinking about, the ones that didn't quite hit the spot, and the upcoming releases I am looking forward to later this year. 2026 has brought a brilliant mix of genres, including my very first venture into LitRPG with Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl. I share my thoughts on diving into this massive series, the exciting news of a television adaptation, and how his darker, highly political standalone novel, Operation Bounce House, received a mixed reception from readers on Goodreads and Storygraph. Of course, a completely honest wrap-up means talking about the disappointments too. I open up about my recent DNFs, like Claire North's Slow Gods, why I am trying to be kinder to myself when a book isn't working, and what happens when an individual read simply becomes one of the worst books I've finished all year. On a brighter note, my mission to discover new authors has so far been something of a success (at least I think so), with seventeen new writers added to my list. I discuss the emotional highs of a beautiful contemporary romance read on my birthday—Jill Mansell's Just One Look at You—and contrast it with a highly anticipated Beth O'Leary release that unfortunately turned into a major seafaring plot disappointment. I also explore whether "sequel syndrome" has struck some of the fantasy and romantasy series I loved last year, including Lauren Palphreyman's The Night Prince. Finally, I look ahead to the final six months of 2026. I take a look at some of my most anticipated upcoming releases, from Madeline Miller's short mythological tale Mestra and Carissa Broadbent's dark vampire romantasy The Lion and the Deathless Dark, to Victoria Aveyard's adult debut Tempest. Featured episodes Silver Elite Dungeon Crawler Carl Warrior Princess Assassin This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me Blood of Hercules Dire Bound The Wolf King

In episode 306, we looked at the advantages of taking your book wide to all retailers. In this week's episode, we'll look at the other side of the coin and examine eight advantages to placing your book in Kindle Unlimited. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Doom of the Sorceress, Book #8 in the Dragonskull series, (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) at my Payhip store: JUNEDOOM The coupon code is valid through July 7, 2026. So if you need a new audiobook this summer, we've got you covered! 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 308 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is June 19th, 2026 and today we are looking at the advantages of using Kindle Unlimited for your books. Two weeks ago, we had an episode about the advantages of going wide and distributing it away from Amazon, but there is another side of the coin and today we're going to look at it in the advantages of Kindle Unlimited. We also have an update on my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects and Coupon of the Week. So let's start off with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Doom of the Sorceress, Book #8 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store. That code is JUNEDOOM. As always, the coupon code and the links to my Payhip store will be available in these show notes for this episode. This coupon code will be valid through July 7th, 2026. So if you need a new audiobook for your travels this summer, we have got you covered. So now let's take a look at where I'm at with my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. I'm pleased to report that the rough draft of Blade of Thieves is done. It turned out to be just about as long as Blade of Wraiths. I'm also finished with Orcish Fury, which will be the bonus short story that newsletter subscribers will get a free ebook copy of when Blade of Thieves comes out. I am now editing Blade of Thieves. The first two chapters are edited. I am not sure how many chapters I'll end up with because I've gotten into the habit of splitting up longer chapters into shorter chapters lately since readers seem to prefer that. I do think the book will probably be out after 4th of July weekend if all goes well, because it is a big book and I'm going to have to do a fair bit of editing and I do have a few more things to do in real life that might slow the process down. But if all goes well, the book should be out shortly after the 4th of July weekend. I am also 13,000 words into Cloak of Frost, which will be my next main project once Blade of Thieves is finally done. That will probably be available in August, if all goes well. In audiobook news, at the moment I have no audiobooks in active production, but that will change next month because Leanne Woodward will be recording Dragon-Mage. Hollis McCarthy will be recording Cloak of Worlds and Brad Wills will be recording Blade of Thieves once I finally get it done. So it's funny how things always seem to do a bunch up like that rather than having a more conveniently distributed fashion, but I suppose that's just the nature of life. In other audiobook news, I mentioned earlier that Cloak of Dragons is now available in Audible Plus for those of you who are Audible listeners who have a plan that includes that. Before too much longer, I'm going to start working on the audiobook version of Cloak Mage Omnibus Four, which will combine I believe Cloak of Embers, Cloak of Titans, and Cloak of Illusion into one audiobook bundle. I've done that before [in] the past [with] Cloak Mage books and it's worked pretty well, so we're going to do it with this one as well. I'm going to start working on that next week because I've got to make the cover and then it takes forever to upload all the audiobook files. Hopefully that will be out sometime in July, if all goes well. So that is where I'm at with my current writing, publishing and audiobook projects. 00:03:23 Main Topic of the Week: When and Why to Put Your Books in Kindle Unlimited (KU) Now let's move on to our main topic this week, when and why to put your books in Kindle Unlimited. You might remember that two weeks ago (with Episode 306, I believe) we discussed the advantages and benefits of taking your books wide and not exclusive to Amazon. However, there are reasons it might actually be a good decision to put your books in Kindle Unlimited. In this week's episode, we'll talk about why you might want to consider putting your book in Kindle Unlimited. First, we should discuss how Kindle Unlimited actually works, defining our terms, so to speak. Kindle Unlimited is Amazon's merchandising program for ebooks, essentially. To use the program, you agree that your ebook will be exclusive to Amazon for the next three months (and by default, it auto renews, but you can turn that off in the dashboard). The advantages to you for using Kindle Unlimited are that in addition to buying your book outright, people can also check it out in the Kindle Unlimited program and then you get paid based on how many pages they read. The payout typically varies, but it's usually 45% of one cent [USD] per page read. For example, Half-Elven Thief, you can buy it for $4.99, but in terms of Kindle Unlimited, it comes to about 300 Kindle Unlimited pages, which means that if a reader reads the entire book, I typically get about $1.35 for a complete read. Obviously, this advantages longer books, whereas with the sale of the book, I would get like $3.49, which is significantly more, but it is possible to make up in volume of page reads lost sales on other platforms if the circumstances are right. So that is how Kindle Unlimited works. And now we will look at eight reasons why it is a good idea or why it might be a good idea and why it might be advantageous for you to put your books into Kindle Unlimited. #1: Certain genres are KU dominant. This is not true across all genres, but certain genres tend to be heavily dominated by Kindle Unlimited readers. For example, LitRPG is a unique case because the most popular LitRPG tends to be in serialized form on sites like Royal Road and similar sites, but when it does come to ebook form, it's usually on Kindle Unlimited. So if you're looking to read LitRPG, you will find most of it on Kindle Unlimited and not on the other sites. Other genres tend to be not totally dominant to that effect the way that LitRPG is, but do still have a great deal of strength in Kindle Unlimited, such as military sci-fi, certain kind of thrillers, and certain romance genres as well tend to be very heavily dominated by Kindle Unlimited. So if you are writing in one of those genres, it may be worth your while to consider that it may be advantageous to you to put your book in Kindle Unlimited and see how it performs. #2: The Kindle Unlimited Boost It's no secret that Amazon definitely puts its thumb on the scales for Kindle Unlimited books as opposed to regular ebooks. I've noticed that Kindle Unlimited books tend to go higher in the Amazon rankings. They tend to stay up there for longer than non-Kindle Unlimited books and that reviews generally show up faster for Kindle Unlimited books than they do for non-Kindle Unlimited books. That last part might vary, but the ranking thing is true. It's also true that the higher a book stays in the Amazon rankings and for longer, the more likely it is Amazon is to generate "we think you might like this" emails and send them out to readers in hopes of drawing them to your books. So it is true that Amazon definitely gives a lot of advantages to Kindle Unlimited books that other books don't get. And depending on your sales strategy and your genre, as we mentioned before, it might be worthwhile for your book to be in Kindle Unlimited. #3: Your sales data supports it. If you publish a book wide and after you look at a couple of months of sales data and you notice something like 95% of the sales are coming from Amazon, it might be worthwhile to consider taking the book exclusive and putting it in Kindle Unlimited since in that instance, the boost of page reads and page reads revenue would make up for the sales you clearly aren't getting on the other platforms. Now the threshold for this obviously varies a good deal. I've had months in the past where only like 45% of my revenue came from Amazon and in some of my older series in particular, the Amazon revenue tends to only be around like 40 to 45% and the rest comes from all the other retailers. So in that case, obviously it would be a very poor decision to take the book exclusive to Amazon and take it off all the other retailers. So this is a case where it is once again a good idea to monitor your sales data closely so you can make informed decision rather than working off of gut hunches and guesswork. #4: It permits you to reach readers who aren't buying individual books and value conscious readers. When I've talked about Kindle Unlimited on Facebook and my website in the past, I usually get comments from people who point out that they are on fixed incomes, whether from retirement or disability or taking care of other relatives and so forth and that Kindle Unlimited for them is a great deal because in exchange for $12 a month, they can read as many KU books as they have time to read. That is true. Kindle Unlimited is a much better deal for readers than it is for the majority of writers. And having your book in Kindle Unlimited is a way to reach those value conscious readers who will not buy individual ebooks for whatever reason, whether budgetary constraints or other reasons but do have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Kindle Unlimited offers you a way to reach those readers that you otherwise would not and that is a potentially useful advantage. #5: It helps you to find new readers and binge readers. Kindle Unlimited kind of works a little bit like the permafree strategy, which I've discussed before, where that if you make the first book in your series free, people are more likely to take a chance on it than they would otherwise. The same thing is true of Kindle Unlimited because if someone's already paid the Kindle Unlimited subscription for a month, it's a sunk cost and therefore there is no disadvantage or additional cost to them for trying out your book and that can potentially lead to a strong sales boost for you if someone discovers your books and likes it. Additionally, if you have a series, every time you release a new book in the series, there is a strong chance your previous books will get a boost. This has been my strategy with the Half-Elven Thief series for the last two and a half years. Now, every time I release a new book in the series, I am fortunate enough that it does well enough that it goes high in the ranks for a while and that causes a sort of halo effect as people discover the previous books in the series for the first time and read through them with their Kindle Unlimited subscriptions, which generates a lot of page reads and therefore revenue. As I said before, a complete read through of Half-Elven Thief, the first book in a series by itself tends to get me around $1.30 to $1.50, depending on what the KU payout rate is that month. By contrast, if a Kindle Unlimited reader reads through all six books in the series, that tends to be around $8 to $8.50, which is a good chunk of revenue. These are often people who, as I mentioned in the previous point, would not have bought the individual ebooks. So that is potentially a big advantage, especially if you write in series and you regularly release in that series because then you get the halo effect to it. #6: It simplifies your ads and marketing strategy. I've often recommended to people who are just starting out self-publishing that it's a good idea to start on Amazon and KU and then see if they want to expand later because it's very simple to just manage one dashboard as opposed to like seven or eight different retailers. As self-publishers get more advanced experience, they tend to prefer to go wide. This also means that your ads are simplified because then you just have to worry about Amazon ads. You can do BookBub ads for KU books. I have not found that to be very advantageous because it's so expensive, but Amazon ads for KU books tend to be very effective and fairly cost effective so long as you monitor the costs and keep your cost per click and ad budget down closely. #7: KU has kind of what I call an immediacy bias. It definitely favors new material over older material. I would not say it's a good idea to take an old series out and put it in KU, especially if it's been on Amazon for several years because the Amazon algorithm definitely tends to reward newness. Self-publishers will talk about the 30, 60, and 90 day cliff where sales tend to drop off, partly from just the organic effect of the book having reached most of its target audience and partly because the Amazon algorithms stop pushing it so much once they reach those points. Kindle Unlimited really, really likes new stuff and I think they change the algorithms on a regular basis, but I think it gives a strong advantage to new stuff. So that ties in if you write a long series and publish new books in it on a regular basis, then you will probably see a strong advantage from that because each new additional book you published in the series will get that new book Halo Effect, which will then boost the other books in the series and that's happening with Half-Elven Thief right now with Dragon-Mage boosting the previous books in the series. #8: Don't plan on keeping your books in Kindle Unlimited forever. As I mentioned in previous episodes of this podcast, my strategy going forward is to only write three series at a time, two of which will be wide and one of which will be in Kindle Unlimited. Once Half-Elven Thief is finished, and I've written the ninth book in the series and it's all wrapped up, I will take it out of Kindle Unlimited and take it to the other platforms because of KU's newness bias. As I mentioned before, since I will no longer be writing new books in the Half-Elven Thief series, they will no longer get that halo boost of page reads from a new book and therefore it makes sense to take it out of Kindle Unlimited and then take it wide to other retailers. I know of other indie authors who do this. [They] will start out their series in Kindle Unlimited and then when it's complete, take it wide to other retailers and that is something I think is worth thinking about if you are publishing your book in Kindle Unlimited is that once the series is done and once you're no longer publishing new books that receive advantages from KU's preference for new material, it is definitely time to start thinking about taking the series out of Kindle Unlimited and putting it on other platforms. Indeed, this is advice I'm going to follow myself once Half-Elven Thief is finished. So there are eight potential reasons putting your book in Kindle Unlimited might be advantageous to you and now the question always tends to be a bit of a binary one is like, should my book be wide? Should my book be in Kindle Unlimited? The secret is there is no right answer. There is just the answer that is right for you and your individual circumstances at this point in time. Like I mentioned earlier, myself, I'm doing a hybrid strategy where most of my books remain wide and most of my new books are wide, but I do have one series in Kindle Unlimited that I am continuing and that might work for you if you write fast enough or it might work better for you to be wide. It might work what better for you to be in Kindle Unlimited. It is just important to reflect and soberly and honestly analyze the data and then make the best decision that is right for you and your self-publishing business. So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave your review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and we'll see you all next week.  

The dice are rolling and the fandom is strong in another fun-filled episode of Wise_N_Nerdy! Join Charles and Joe as they blend fatherhood, fandom, and friendship into a memorable adventure packed with laughs, life lessons, and nerdy passions. The episode kicks off with the Question of the Week: "Would you rather spend five days exploring Disney or New York City?" The hosts and community weigh the pros and cons of two iconic destinations. Is it better to immerse yourself in the magic, attractions, and family-friendly experiences of Disney, or would you prefer the culture, history, food, and endless entertainment offered by New York City? The discussion highlights the unique appeal of both destinations and reveals where each host would spend their dream vacation. As always, the Roll of the Dice determines the journey, leading first to "Daddy, Tell Me A Story." Charles shares a childhood memory that many siblings can relate to: the excitement of receiving a brand-new LEGO set, only to watch in horror as his younger sister dismantled his prized creation. It's a nostalgic story about childhood passions, family dynamics, and learning to let go. Next, the dice direct the hosts to the "How Do I...?" segment, where Charles and Joe tackle a common challenge: How do you overcome a bad first impression? Through personal experiences and practical advice, they discuss the importance of authenticity, consistency, and giving people the opportunity to see who you truly are beyond an awkward first encounter. The fates then reward listeners with a collection of groan-worthy Bad Dad Jokes, courtesy of Bob. The puns fly, the eye rolls follow, and the laughter is unavoidable as another generation carries on the proud tradition of terrible humor. From there, the show moves into "Parliament of Papas," where the hosts examine a relationship dilemma involving a couple struggling to agree on vacation plans. The wife wants every vacation to revolve around Disney, while the husband hopes to explore other destinations. The conversation opens up broader discussions about compromise, shared interests, communication, and balancing personal passions within a relationship. Finally, the episode concludes with "What Are You Nerding Out About?" Joe can't stop talking about He Who Fights with Monsters by Shirtaloon (Travis Deverell), a wildly popular LitRPG series that has completely captured his attention. He shares why the story, characters, and world-building make it nearly impossible to put down. Meanwhile, Charles is embracing the warmer weather by getting his pool ready for the season, proving that sometimes the simplest hobbies can bring the greatest joy. Whether you're debating vacation destinations, recovering from a bad first impression, laughing at dad jokes, or discovering your next favorite book series, this episode has something for everyone. So pull up a chair, join the conversation, and Find your FAMdom with the Wise_N_Nerdy community. Wise_N_Nerdy: Where Fatherhood Meets Fandom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peacock has handed Dungeon Crawler Carl a straight-to-series order, and this one is locked in. No pilot, no waiting to see if it sticks. In this episode of Geek Freaks Headlines, we break down the greenlight, why the project went live-action instead of animated, and the single thing author Matt Dinniman did to make sure the show would actually look good before signing off.We also get into the San Diego Comic-Con panel that should reveal a lot more about season one, plus a quick personal check-in on the Dungeon Crawler Carl reading journey so far. If you have been following this story since the rights deal first surfaced, this is the payoff moment fans have been waiting on.Timestamps0:00 Peacock officially greenlights the Dungeon Crawler Carl series0:14 The animation vs. live-action debate and Matt Dinniman's response0:20 The Princess Donut CGI test that locked in the greenlight0:31 The San Diego Comic-Con panel with Chris Yost and Matt Dinniman0:38 Personal reading update and joining the Carl fan communityKey TakeawaysPeacock ordered a full first season, not a pilot. The project is fully confirmed and moving forward.The biggest fan complaint from previous coverage was that the show should have been animated rather than live-action.Dinniman addressed that head on, saying he would not let the project move forward if the CGI looked bad.CGI work was already done on Princess Donut, the most prominent CGI character, to prove it would hold up. That test is what cleared the way for the greenlight.A Comic-Con panel with Chris Yost and Matt Dinniman is on the schedule, likely bringing season one details.Memorable Quotes"It's official. Dungeon Crawler Carl series just got greenlit over at Peacock.""He was not going to let this project happen if the CGI looked bad.""Matt himself is the one that said the CGI is good enough for the show to happen."Call to ActionIf you are as hyped about this as we are, do us a favor and hit subscribe so you never miss a Headlines drop. Leave us a review to help more geeks find the show, and share this episode with the Carl fan in your life. Tag us with #GeekFreaks when you do.Catch every story we cover at GeekFreaksPodcast.com.Follow Geek FreaksFacebook: facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcastThreads: threads.net/@geekfreakspodcastPatreon: patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcastHost: Frank at @franklourence79Listener QuestionWhat do you want to see most from the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, and are you team live-action or did you want animation? Drop your questions and we may answer them on a future episode.Dungeon Crawler Carl, Peacock, Matt Dinniman, Chris Yost, Seth MacFarlane, Fuzzy Door, LitRPG, Princess Donut, live action adaptation, San Diego Comic-Con, SDCC, sci-fi TV, fantasy TV, book adaptation, Universal Global Television, geek news, pop culture podcast, Geek Freaks, Geek Freaks Headlines

Så er der besøg fra rummet igen - det er i hvert fald, hvad Steven Spielberg endnu engang drømmer om i filmen Disclosure Day. Vi anmelder også to andre biografaktuelle film - Toy Story 5 og gyseren Obsession - spillet Mina the Hollower, serien Widow's Bay på Apple, litRPG-romanen Dungeon Crawler Carl af Matt Dinniman og tegneserierne Engle vs. Dæmoner af Peter Snejbjerg og Peter J. Tomasi samt Daredevil: Manden uden frygt af Frank Miller og John Romita Jr. Medvirkende: Jakob Stegelmann, Troels Møller, Benjamin Stegelmann, Christopher Andersen, Ida Rud og Regitze Heiberg.

In this week's episode, we take a look at eight reasons to diversify your ebooks sales beyond just Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Wrath of the Warlock, Book #7 in the Dragonskull series, (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) at my Payhip store: WARLOCKJUNE The coupon code is valid through June 22, 2026. So if you need a new audiobook this summer, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 306 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is June 5th, 2026 and today we'll discuss eight reasons you should diversify your book sales beyond Amazon. We'll also talk about Coupon of the Week and give a progress update on my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects.   So let's start off with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Wrath of the Warlock, Book #7 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store. That coupon code is WARLOCKJUNE. As always, the coupon code and the links to my Payhip store will be available in the show notes for this episode. This coupon code is valid through June 22nd, 2026, So if you need a new audiobook for the summer as you go on a summer road trip, we have got you covered. Now let's talk about my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. As of this recording, I am 80,000 words into Blade of Thieves, which puts me in Chapter 17 of 25 of my outline. So we're closing in on the end. I think we're going to be about 110-115,000 words or thereabouts in the rough draft. So hopefully a couple more solid pushes and we'll get there to the end. I hope to be at 90,000 words by this point, but there is quite a lot to do in real life so we didn't quite get there, but 80,000 words is still better than nothing. For Cloak of Frost, as of this recording, I am now 9,000 words into it and that will be my main project once Blade of Thieves is done. I was hoping to have Blade of Thieves come out in June, but July is looking more likely at this point. Hopefully Cloak of Frost will come out the month after Blade Thieves comes out, whenever that is.   In audiobook news, I'm pleased to report that Blade of Wraiths (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) is now out at all audiobook platforms. Get it at Audible, Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Kobo Books, Chirp, my own Payhip store and all the usual audiobook stores. At the moment, I have no other audiobooks in active production, but once Blade of Thieves is done, Brad will also be recording that. Later this month, Hollis McCarthy is scheduled to start on Cloak of Worlds and in July, Leanne Woodward is going to record Dragon-Mage, the most recent Rivah book. So we don't have any audiobooks being produced right now, but we will in the future. So that is where I am at with my current writing, audiobook, and publishing projects.   00:02:32 Main Topic of the Week: Beyond Amazon: Reasons to Diversify Your Sales Platform   Now onto our main topic this week, Beyond Amazon: Reasons to Diversify Your Sales Platform, which is something you know I do quite often given how often I talk about my links to my Payhip store on this very podcast.   For a long time, the conventional wisdom has been that Amazon has 80% of the US book market and putting your ebooks into Kindle Unlimited was the best route of success because of that monopoly and some of the algorithmic benefits Amazon gives to KU authors. While it's true that certain genres (especially LitRPG and romance) are almost exclusively focused on Amazon and KU in the US, going exclusive with Amazon is not necessarily the best course of action for everyone, especially if you're interested in growing your international sales.   Today we'll talk about reasons why putting your books in KU is limiting and in the interest of fairness, in two weeks, we will also be doing an episode later [about] when putting your book in KU is a good idea and some of the benefits of that. But today we're going to start with the benefits of diversification. Here are eight reasons you might want to consider moving beyond just Amazon, which is often called going wide in the Indie Publishing world. #1: Increasing your global reach.   It may surprise you to know that the Kindle store is not available in every country and that other countries have a strong competitor to the Kindle store. For example, in Canada, Kobo is Amazon's main competitor and has traditionally a strong market share there, quite a bit larger than Amazon Canada based on my own sales data. Kobo is also very strong in many European markets. Additionally, because there are many more Android users internationally than there are in the US, Google Play Books is important in non-US countries. It's also an easy platform for users and integrates into the Google ecosystem as well. Data usually finds that while the iPhone [iOS] is dominant in the United States, Android tends to be the majority mobile operating system in the rest of the world. So if you want to access Android users in the Google Play Book Store, then you want to be on Google Play Books. #2: Some people are boycotting Amazon.   There are many readers who boycott Amazon or American-led companies for a number of reasons. It is possible to overstate the strength of these. I've seen many people be alarmed about Amazon boycotts impacting their sales, but it never really seems to materialize. I suspect a lot of the boycotting thing is much louder online than it is in real life. That said, it is undeniable. There are people who will not buy ebooks or anything from Amazon for a variety of reasons. So if you sell your books only through Amazon, you're missing out on that group of readers. Some categories of romance have also been affected by Amazon boycotts, so it's worth investigating other options if you're an author in these categories.   #3: Kobo Plus.   Kobo offers a subscription program called Kobo Plus that unlike KU, does not require exclusivity to participate in it. Over three million ebooks and 100,000 audiobooks (quite a few of which are mine) are available to subscribers for less than the cost of a KU subscription. Kobo has been gaining popularity in the US in part due to their subscription program. I have to admit my own personal experience with Kobo Plus as an indie author has been almost entirely positive. When it first came out, I was a little leery of it, but then I decided to test it out by putting Frostborn into it and that did quite well and I was pleased enough with the results that now I just put everything in Kobo on Kobo Plus and that has paid off because the majority of my month to month Kobo revenue and the majority of my yearly Kobo revenue comes from Kobo Plus now. In March and April, I had two of my best months ever on Kobo in the 14 years I've been publishing with Kobo entirely off the strength of Kobo Plus. So my experience with it has been if you write a really long series like that that generates a strong read through (like Frostborn is 15 books, Sevenfold Sword was 12 books, Cloak Mage as of this point is up to 14 books), then it would be definitely advantageous to you to investigate Kobo Plus.   #4: It gives you the chance to support independent booksellers through bookshop.org.   This past year, bookshop.org made a deal with Draft2Digital that made it possible for indie authors to put their books on the bookshop.org platform. In the past, has not been particularly easy or straightforward for small indie bookstores to sell ebooks, so this is an opportunity for physical indie bookstores based in the US. For American readers who want to shop local but still read ebooks, it's nice to be able to offer them an option that benefits their local communities. It also gives these bookstores a way of supporting local authors without having to find physical space for them within the store itself. Bookshop.org is still in the early stages of accepting indie ebooks and there are some things that need to be worked out with features on their app, especially about user complaints about a lack of flexibility with DRM-free e-books. Still, romance and what the site calls "serious nonfiction" are growing rapidly on the platform, so it's definitely worth exploring, especially for authors in those categories. If they do succeed in their plans to put out their own ereader, that would make the platform even more attractive to many book buyers.   #5: Direct sales equals greater profit, extras, price fixability, et cetera.    Having your own sales platform (typically hosted on sites like Payhip and Shopify) gives you far more control over your sales platform. It also gives you a far greater cut of the profits. To give an example, if I do a coupon code for one of my audiobooks on my Payhip site to make it 50% off like I did earlier in this episode with the Dragonskull: Wrath of the Warlock coupon, I still earn a similar amount as if someone had bought it for full price on Audible.   A direct sales platform also allows you to create discounts for sales far more easily than on other platforms. Additionally, you don't have to wait for ebooks or audiobooks to get through processing on a direct sales site like you do with ACX and the other sites, which makes when a book or audiobook is ready for sale far more predictable. You can also bundle things with ebooks like such as the book file in multiple formats or bonus items like maps, worksheets, or charts. On the other ebook sites, this isn't typically possible. Direct sales gives you a greater flexibility in terms of selling. You can include bonus items and it's also a good fallback position if one of the main sites isn't working. I first got into direct sales in 2021 because Barnes & Noble had its big ransomware hack then and for a while it was impossible to publish new things to the platform and I believe that was when Ghost in the Vault came out and since I couldn't publish that on Barnes & Noble until the ransomware problem was fixed, I directed people to the Payhip site instead.   #6: Library sales and Kindle Unlimited.   The popularity of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and the Project Hail Mary audiobook made a lot of people aware of the fact that exclusivity agreements with Amazon and Audible have often been structured to leave out options for library ebook platforms or require maneuvering or additional deals in order to make it possible. The popularity of Libby in particular is growing here in the United States, especially as people are having to shift their leisure spending from things like books and entertainment to covering basic necessities like housing, transportation, fuel, and food costs due to the poor state of the economy. If library sales and library readers are important to you, then going wide is your best option for reaching the library market.   Myself, I haven't particularly pursued the library market. I haven't refused it either. I usually, when the option is available, click on the toggle switch to publish it to a library service, but then don't think about it very much after that, but there are many indie authors who are very interested in getting in libraries and have pursued that quite a bit through these programs.   #7: Vendor lock-in/user preference.   There is a concept called vendor lock-in, meaning that ebook buyers have a particular platform that they default to when buying ebooks because that is where the ebook collection is based and they want to keep their books together instead of spread across several different apps. Many Barnes & Noble and Kobo users are not interested in ebooks from Amazon or KU for this reason and won't even follow a favorite author to another platform. It's important to have an option available for these readers.   #8: DRM free. [Digital Rights Management]   Having a DRM free copy of an ebook is extremely important to many readers and that is what makes an ebook purchase a true purchase instead of a highly conditional license. Sites like Kobo allow ebook buyers to limit their searches to only DRM free titles and many will not buy a book that is not available without DRM. My Payhip store, all the files you get from that when you buy an ebook or an audiobook are DRM free as well.   For myself, a large portion of my sales come from outside Amazon, so that's why I've never been fully exclusive with Kindle Unlimited and instead rotate a small selection of my series in and out of KU. Over the years, I've experimented with having various books in KU and starting in 2023, what I settled on doing was that I would write three series ongoing. Two of those series would be available on all ebook platforms and one of those series would be available in Kindle Unlimited, which allowed me to pursue both markets at once. As of right now, the wide series are Blades of Ruin and Cloak Mage and the Kindle Unlimited series is Half-Elven Thief. Once Half-Elven Thief is completed, I will take it out of Kindle Unlimited and take it wide and start a new series for Kindle Unlimited.   Overall, I found it's worthwhile to be wide even when pursuing Kindle Unlimited with some of my books because typically in an average month about 45 to 55% of my revenue comes from Amazon and the rest comes from all the other platforms put together. So while Amazon is typically half, that's not nothing, it's only half and the rest of the revenue comes from all these ebook platforms I've been cultivating over the years. So the conclusion is that the beauty of KU's current agreement is that you only have to commit to being exclusive for a short amount of time, specifically three months, and then can always return to it if you want to try going wide for a while.    It's also important to note that growth on other platforms may be slow and if you're going to try them out, it's important to be patient and have realistic expectations. It's the benefit of being an indie author that we can experiment and make decisions quickly based on data and reader preferences. Going wide may not be the best decision for everyone, but the results may surprise you, especially over time.   The cumulative effect of things is often easy to overlook, but it does add up over time. Part of the reason I think my books do so well with Kobo Plus is because they've been on the Kobo website for the last 14 years, which gives them time to accumulate reviews and additional word of mouth. So when someone is browsing Kobo Plus for something to read and they see this long book series with a bunch of good reviews, it becomes easy for them to try it through Kobo Plus.   So that is it for this week. This week we talked about going wide. Next week I don't have time to record a full-time episode, so we're going to do another audiobook sampler roundup, which will be fun. The week after that, in two weeks from today, we are going to talk about the benefits of going to Kindle Unlimited as a contrast to this episode and I will talk about some of my Kindle Unlimited experiences (both good and bad). So thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the backups at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave your review on your podcasting and platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and we'll see you all next week.  

On this episode of the Wise_N_Nerdy podcast, Joe is joined by special guests Anthony Vito and Devocite for an unforgettable adventure through fandom, fatherhood, gaming, and hilariously chaotic conversations. From magical castles and anime recommendations to practical gaming advice and outrageous Reddit drama, this episode delivers everything fans love about the Wise_N_Nerdy experience while encouraging listeners to Find your FAMdom. The episode kicks off with the Question of the Week: “You've inherited a magical castle. What is your favorite room in the house?” The answers immediately ignite the imagination as the hosts and community dream up the ultimate fantasy fortress. Joe imagines sprawling magical libraries filled with ancient knowledge, while others discuss elaborate armories, peaceful greenhouses, majestic gardens, and grand throne rooms worthy of fantasy royalty. The discussion perfectly captures the creativity and escapism that define nerd culture. As always, the roll of the dice determines the path of the show, and the first segment selected is “Daddy, Tell Me A Story.” In this heartfelt conversation, the hosts reflect on moments when complete strangers restored their faith in humanity. From unexpected financial assistance during difficult seasons to strangers stepping in during stressful car troubles, the stories highlight the kindness and generosity that can appear when people need it most. It becomes a moving reminder that compassion still exists in everyday life. The dice then shift the conversation into “What Are You Nerding Out About?” where the hosts proudly showcase the fandoms currently consuming their attention. Devocite is deep into the wildly popular Dungeon Crawler Carl series, embracing the chaotic LitRPG adventure that has captivated readers everywhere. Anthony Vito shares his enthusiasm for the Gambler's Star Series by Nancy Holder, while Joe talks about watching the anime Log Horizon with his family, celebrating its unique take on gaming worlds and teamwork. Of course, no episode of Wise_N_Nerdy would be complete without a collection of groan-worthy Bad Dad Jokes. The jokes fly fast and painfully hard, delivering exactly the kind of wholesome cringe the community has come to love. The fates then lead the show into the “Parliament of Papas” segment, where the hosts react to a jaw-dropping Reddit story involving a man suing his girlfriend after she sent his beloved 1967 Impala to the scrapyard. The conversation explores emotional attachment, communication failures, and the difficult realities of handling treasured possessions in relationships. It's equal parts hilarious, shocking, and surprisingly thoughtful. Finally, the episode wraps up with the “How Do I…?” segment, where Joe, Anthony Vito, and Devocite share practical advice for gaming on a budget. From finding deals on computer parts to knowing when to upgrade hardware and where to search for discounts, the hosts offer useful strategies for gamers who want to enjoy their hobby without emptying their wallets. It's a grounded and helpful discussion that blends real-world experience with genuine enthusiasm for gaming culture. Whether you're here for fantasy castles, anime discussions, gaming advice, hilarious dad jokes, or meaningful conversations about life and kindness, this episode captures the heart of what makes Wise_N_Nerdy special. Wise_N_Nerdy: Where Fatherhood Meets Fandom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Evan and Chad for a spoiler-filled discussion of Matt Dinniman's LitRPG phenomenon: Dungeon Crawler Carl Listen ad-free on Patreon Join the BRK Discord Buy Evan's book Anji Kills a King Preorder Evan's Book Anji In Shadow Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Get ready to grind, because this installment of the Dungeon Master Book Club is entering Dungeon World: Earth (no, not that Dungeon World) to discuss the first several installments of DCC (no, not that DCC), the new hit LitRPG (no, not that LitRPG) series by author Matt Dinniman. Join Crawler #7137 Matt and Crawler #5039 Rob and listen, listen, listen! Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG + Unstoppable Backerkit by Renegade Game Studios Follow Dungeon Master of None on Blue Sky:  https://bsky.app/profile/dmofnone.bsky.social  https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Join the DMofNone Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice

Kicking off episode 301 featuring an incredibly talented new LitRPG author, Jason Kilpatrick! In this episode, the Jasons discuss how his background in writing Dungeons & Dragons campaigns not only inspired his work but also came to his aid when writing it. They went behind the scenes on how Jason brought characters to life, his plans for a long series, and his love of dropping Pop Culture references into his stories! One might say Jason is an accurate depiction of "writing what you know!" Jason Kilpatrick's website  World Evolution Online on Amazon Jason Kilpatrick's Author FB page Find out more about our show host, Jason, and his books here Contact the show via email: samplechapterpodcast@gmail.com

What happens when a series reaches Book 8? Usually… fatigue sets in. Repetition creeps in. The magic starts fading.Apparently nobody told Matt Dinniman.Today, Jim dives into a spoiler-lite review of A Parade of Horribles — the newest entry in the wildly chaotic, hilarious, emotionally devastating, and somehow STILL incredibly fresh Dungeon Crawler Carl series.Can Dinniman really keep escalating the madness without the whole thing collapsing under its own insanity? And how is this series still balancing:⚔️ explosive action

!!!Please don't forget to subscribe!!! Hosted and owned by: Daniel Coolbaugh For this episode of Season 5 I had the pleasure of interviewing returning guest, LitRPG author Jason J. Willis. We had a terrific chat about his experiences writing in writing his sequel Drop Out, what it is like writing his sequel, and what he has learned in the process. Make sure you check out Jason's books through his social links below and make sure to check out his co-authored book with Tao Wong-Drop Out! Author Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0CWPKZDG6 Publisher's Website: https://starlitpublishing.com/collections/jason-j-willis Author Goodreads Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/34106703.Jason_J_Willis Podcast Channel Links: Patreon: patreon.com/TFSFP Website: https://thefantasyandscififanaticspod.com/ Youtube Channel Subscription: https://youtube.com/@thefantasyandsci-fifanatic2328 Rss.com: https://media.rss.com/thefantasyandsci-fifanaticspodcast/feed.xml Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aCCUhora9GdLAduLaaqiu?si=cl-8VWgaSrOGDwJg-cKONQ Discord Server: https://discord.gg/zd6mj2rQ Facebook Group join link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/402724958101648/?ref=share

This week on Radio Labyrinth, we're talking about all the new things worth listening to — and a few things Spotify probably should've kept to itself.Spotify is celebrating 20 years with a new feature that digs through your entire listening history, revealing your first streamed song, your all-time stats, and the artists you may or may not want to admit you played the most. Tim's Spotify history is officially on trial, and yes, Tom Segura somehow entered the chat.We're also diving into Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 8: A Parade of Horribles, the latest entry in Matt Dinniman's wildly popular LitRPG series. Carl and Princess Donut are back, the dungeon is still insane, and the fandom is once again preparing to lose its collective mind.Plus, we get into Fallon and Kimmel stepping aside during Stephen Colbert's final Late Show, Weird Al heading toward Broadway with Dare to Be Stupid: The Weird Al Musical, new allegations surrounding Michael Jackson, Sydney Sweeney and Euphoria controversy, Jury Duty getting renewed for Season 3, and Christopher Nolan's new Odyssey trailer.Then it's time for Trailer Trash, Views or Snooze, and our weekly Staff Picks, including The Novelizers Podcast, David Fincher's updated Fight Club 4K release, and Marty: Life Is Short on Netflix.Subscribe, like, comment, and step into the Labyrinth.

The book series that has taken over our ear holes! The apocalypse will be televised.Carl, Donut, the world dungeon, goblins, danger dingoes, the Enchanted Toe Ring of the Splatter Skunk, pop culture references, Survivor, Dungeons and Dragons, The Running Man, on a universal scale. Enjoy our unhinged review of book 1 in the series. NSFW or little ears. shout-out to A Film By podcastSend us Fan MailTwitter @dockingbay77podFacebook @dockingbay77podcastdockingbay77podcast@gmail.compatreon.com/dockingbay77podcasthttps://www.youtube.com/@DockingBay77podcast

In this episode of The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed, host Richie Billing interviews bestselling author Michael Chatfield about the writing process, indie publishing, Patreon, audience growth, character creation and building a sustainable author business. Learn practical ways to generate story ideas, develop compelling characters, engage readers, grow a subscription community and think more commercially about a long-term writing career.In this episode, I'm joined by bestselling indie author Michael Chatfield for a practical and revealing conversation about what it really takes to build a successful writing career.Michael is the author of major fantasy, science fiction and LitRPG series, including The Ten Realms, Emerilia, Harmony War and Restarting the Apocalypse. He's also built an engaged reader community through subscription platforms like Patreon, where fans can access early chapters, exclusive material, behind-the-scenes updates and opportunities to become more involved in the creative process.This episode explores Michael's writing process, from finding inspiration and developing ideas to creating characters that feel active, motivated and memorable. We also discuss the business side of being an indie author, including how Michael has grown beyond writing alone and developed a publishing operation that employs multiple people.For fantasy writers, LitRPG authors, self-published novelists and anyone interested in author entrepreneurship, this interview offers a valuable look at the link between craft, consistency, reader engagement and commercial sustainability.ABOUT MICHAEL CHATFIELDhttps://michaelchatfield.com/https://www.patreon.com/c/authormichaelchatfield/https://www.facebook.com/authormichaelchatfield/https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14055550.Michael_ChatfieldJOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITYhttps://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed⁠

Pragmata released to gaming consoles April 17. The new Capcom title promptly sold 1 million copies by its first weekend and provoked much discourse from fans and some haters. Why the hate? Because players everywhere, especially men, loved the key concept of an outer space soldier teaming up with a little android girl to fight robo-monsters. Gamers declared they would do anything to protect Diana. How do these stories help humans remember to restore our “factory settings”? Episode sponsors All that Glows by Lauren Smyth Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Author Update from Novel Marketing The Talismiths: The Secret Saboteur by M. L. Hodder Mission update New at Lorehaven: weekly reviews, some website upgrades Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild New book quest for Mortal Queens by Victoria McCombs 1. The tale of a mecha-man and robo-girl Capcom announced Pragmata nearly six years ago (June 2020). The game was later delayed, with sporadic, apologetic teasers. The pitch? Space marine finds orphaned android girl in moonbase. They team up to fight rogue robots in hopes of returning to Earth. Before it even released, Reddit banned one channel (TheGamer). They said some people were sexualizing the little robot girl, Diana. Which is unfortunately expected, and horrifying. More on this later. Last month, the final trailer arrived, and the game itself (April 17). After release, some men said they felt their “dad senses” awaken. You all HATE escort missions But make that NPC a cute kid, and suddenly you’ll burn the whole world down for them Japan’s population is crashing. Capcom realized people wouldn’t listen to government mandates to reproduce, so they started making “Parent Simulators” Pragmata feels like a psyop to make you want to have kids, a propaganda disguised as a game to boost the birth rates. And honestly it’s awesome. The timeline is full of people saying Diana makes them want to start a real family. I love that we really fell for it. —@‌TheRooster on X.com, April 20 Female players were also positively affected by Diana's cuteness. In response, critics blasted this positive response as closeted sin. They saw nothing but evil motives in the male players’ enjoyment. Single men, actual dads, and uncles alike said they'd die for Diana. And the game's fans began referring to human “factory settings.” 2. What we mean by saying ‘factory settings' Stephen hasn't yet played Pragmata but wants to. Great reviews. It turns out the idea of “factory settings” has great foundations. This is just a pop-culture-y, meme-y way to say “human purpose.” It's a rebuttal to false purposes, e.g. “get rich” or “be an activist.” In other words, the “chief end of man.” Let's define this carefully. In the biblical view, our “chief end” is to glorify and enjoy God. To the Christian, our “chief end” is not to protect the innocent. Our chief end isn't even getting married and having families. After all, in a sinful world, not everyone is blessed with this gift. But … that doesn't mean we deny that original human purpose. It goes back to Genesis 1:27-28, God's first command to people. We worship Him first by acts of creation, including marriage/family. This is our “factory setting.” By recalling the action, we get close. The next step is to rediscover that original motive: to glorify God. 3.How these ‘factory settings' can change us Stephen's response is different. He's not been blessed with kids. Even those who are blessed with kids have rough family situations. And of course, as some critics say, the game shows only positives. Diana isn't a real child, but a robot. (We don't know spoilers here.) Real small children have sinful natures and many challenges. And yet… can't a game “simulate” these with health and death? You do “die” and respawn many times in a game, leveling up. It's a direct and often numbers-based “parable” illustrating reality. That's probably why many men love tabletop games and LitRPG. This is not just a psychological trick. Not just a “dopamine hack.” We may feel the same about beauty, knowing we're made for more. To capture this longing, C.S. Lewis used the German sehnsucht. We could recall this longing, but let it stay in the world of fiction. Or else “translate” this (right or wrong) to our own human callings. But we also hope gamers will follow through on marriage/parenting. Not just to recover birth rates. Not just for high cultural influence. The purpose of any creation—even of people—is to glorify Christ. Com station Top question for listeners When did a simple story remind you of your purpose as a person? Next on Fantastical Truth Next week marks Ascension Day, May 14! So let's rise to that occasion and survey at least seven notions about that place to which Jesus ascended—Heaven. Is it true that Heaven is only “spiritual”? Or that we can't know about Heaven is like, so it's best we not think much about that unchanging, un-earthly or very-earthly dimension where “time shall be no more” and where basically good people go? We'll do our best to bypass modern myth and search the only certain Source.

Kickstarter has become a key part of the author business for those who want to make more money per book, connect directly with readers, and produce beautiful editions they're proud of. In this episode, I share excerpts from interviews with Oriana Leckert, Head of Publishing at Kickstarter, Russell Nohelty, and Sacha Black, alongside my own hard-won lessons from six campaigns that have now made over $140K combined. Whether you're considering your first campaign or looking to refine your process, we cover everything from overcoming your fears to rewards, fulfilment, shipping, marketing, and why I keep coming back for more. In the intro, Writing StoryBundle; Spotify Expands Audiobook Features and Printed Books; Draft2Digital Activation and Maintenance Fees; comment by Kevin McLaughlin; and Barnes & Noble Press change to Minimum Retail Price for Printed Books; AI-Assisted Artisan Author webinars. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn  Joanna Penn is an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, dark fantasy, short stories and travel memoir under J.F. Penn and also writes non-fiction for authors and hosts The Creative Penn Podcast. What Kickstarter is and why it works differently from a normal book launch The fears that held me back for almost a decade — and whether they were justified Starting small: Why you don't need sprayed edges and special hardbacks to run a successful campaign. Creative reward ideas beyond merch: digital rewards, experiential rewards, naming rights, and bundling your backlist Common mistakes that sink campaigns: overestimating your reach, getting shipping costs wrong, and not allowing enough time Fulfilment realities, printing timelines, and reinvesting profit into future stock Marketing your campaign: pre-launch signups, content marketing, email lists, social media scheduling, and Facebook/Meta ads My update for campaign #7, Bones of the Deep: what's changed, what I'm doing differently, and how AI tools are part of my process now Why I now love Kickstarter campaigns and how the spike income model fits a sustainable creative career You can find my Kickstarter campaign for Bones of the Deep here (until 5 May, 2026) and all my previous campaigns here. Introduction Jo: In this episode, I've included excerpts from my own previous solo show about Kickstarter, as well as excerpts from interviews with Oriana Leckert, the Head of Publishing at Kickstarter; Russell Nohelty, who has done lots of successful Kickstarter campaigns and teaches direct sales; and Sacha Black, who did a six-figure campaign last year. I've also added my updates to the end of the episode filling in any last thoughts. You can listen to the full episodes here: Kickstarter for Authors with Oriana Leckert The Mindset and Business of Selling Direct with Russell Nohelty Lessons Learned and Tips from Pilgrimage, My First Kickstarter Campaign Two Different Approaches to Selling Direct with Sacha Black and Joanna Penn What is Kickstarter, and why use it instead of a normal book launch? Here's Oriana Leckert, Head of Publishing at Kickstarter — and the numbers she shares will be higher now, as the episode is from February 2025. Oriana: Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform. We are unique in the crowdfunding landscape for a few reasons. We are only for creative projects, so you can't use Kickstarter for medical bills, investment funding, or charitable donations. Every project has to create something new to share with the world. Jo: Have you got any numbers on how big the Kickstarter industry is now with publishing, or anything you can share around that? Oriana: Yeah, I would love to. First I'll tell you Kickstarter overall by the numbers. Since our inception, there have been 273,000 projects funded, eight and a half billion — with a “b” — billion dollars pledged, from more than 24 million backers. In publishing specifically, we've had 69,000 projects launched, 3.2 million unique backers, and over $380 million pledged to campaigns. I have lots of other stats, but a few things I'll share. The publishing category keeps growing The publishing category has grown year over year, every year since 2017, in terms of number of projects launched, number of projects successful, and the overall success rate. There has never been a dip since 2017. Another stat I really love about the publishing category: if you look at campaigns that have at least 25 backers, the overall success rate is 84%. I think that's really telling, because 25 backers is a little bit more than your mum, your best friend, the folks who are essentially obligated to support anything you do. So if you can get a little bit beyond that inner circle, your chances of succeeding on the platform are tremendously high. Backers are paying more — and waiting longer Another thing I wanted to call out — I just got some new numbers around this. The average backing amount per backer across the whole category has nearly doubled since 2020. We used to see an average backing around $40, and it's currently at $72 per backer. I think this is clearly around the trend of special and deluxe editions, but it's a great indication that backer behaviour on Kickstarter is just very different from your general book-buying public. People don't come here looking for 99-cent ebooks — the lowest bargain-basement prices. Folks are really willing to pay more because they understand this is a different kind of thing. It's not exactly a purchase. It really is supporting, bringing a strange and wonderful new thing into the world that wouldn't exist before. People are also much more forgiving about timelines. If you buy something from most online booksellers, you're expecting to have it in your hands within a couple of days. People wait months and sometimes years to get their Kickstarter rewards, and they don't mind if the creator is clear and transparent. You're also doing the work of demystifying the publishing process. Why does it take so long? Where are books printed? How long does it take them to ship via freight over the ocean? What do all these things really look like? So it's really interesting just figuring out what your backers want and will bear versus the general book-buying public out in the world. Kickstarter is not just for “desperate” authors anymore Oriana: People used to think Kickstarter was just for desperate folks who couldn't get a book deal through the traditional systems. The change has been so dramatic — people now understand that Kickstarter can be transformative for an author's career, and that it can work for traditional publishing, indie publishing, hybrid publishing, all kinds of authors. Kickstarter is really about collapsing the boundaries between a writer and their readers, a publisher and their fan base, any creative person and their audience. And there are so many benefits to doing that. You get to really thrill your backers with new and exciting rewards. You get to turn what can be a standard book release into a moment. You get to build your brand, your profile, get press, test out ambitious projects. You get to understand so much more about your audience and what they want and how you can give it to them. It's been really marvellous seeing the great success that people can have on our platform and outside of it. Why do a Kickstarter campaign? Jo: Why Kickstarter and not a usual book launch? Benefits for backers If you back a Kickstarter, you get special editions, bonus content, interesting merchandise, bundles, digital specials, print specials, early access. All of them pretty much are really cool books from creators you either already love or those you've never heard of, because you just want to see their cool stuff. I've started buying books from people I have never heard of because I think their books are really cool. Once you start supporting campaigns on Kickstarter, the algorithm will recommend campaigns for you. It's essentially a different way of shopping for great books and other products, and it's just another part of my ecosystem for how I shop. It's a form of direct sales, so you also have a closer connection with the creator. You can message them, for example, and they get it — rather than buying through an online retailer or bookstore. Benefits for creators In terms of benefits for creators, you get to know people in a more personal way through the campaign, messaging with people and connecting more than you would when selling through a retailer, when you don't know who is buying your books. As an author, you can make more money more quickly and retain a higher percentage of the royalties, rather than wait months or years to get paid and have a large percentage taken out by everyone down the chain — publishers, platforms, distributors, and retailers. Brandon Sanderson's $41 million Kickstarter was clearly the pinnacle of what can be achieved, but many authors are happy making a few thousand for their book project upfront and use campaigns multiple times during the year. Kickstarter takes 5% for their fee, although of course you have to factor in the cost of production and marketing. But even then, I make more profit on my book sales through selling ebooks and audiobooks direct, and also printing with BookVault, than I do with KDP Print or IngramSpark print on demand. Higher average order and faster payment Another way you make more money is that the average order per customer is higher with Kickstarter than sales on the usual stores. The average order on my campaign was £37.24 — that's around $45 US — which is at least four times higher than I might have made selling Pilgrimage in the usual way on the major retailers. You get paid two weeks after the campaign finishes, so the money is in your bank account much faster than if you sell on retailers. In terms of cash flow, make sure you time your campaign so you get the money before you have to pay for printing, shipping, and other significant bills. Spike income vs monthly income There are many creators who now make Kickstarter the core of their business. It's a spike income model rather than a monthly income, which most indie authors are used to. The monthly income model is fantastic — I love getting money every month — but it also has the effect of making indie authors behave as if this is a normal job: work every month, get paid every month, put out another book so you get paid in another few months' time. With the Kickstarter model, you can get a bigger chunk of money in one go, so you could potentially move to a big launch and then take more time off before ramping up to the next launch months later. And amusingly, this sounds a bit more like traditional publishing. It's just that as an indie author, when you get that amount of money, it's much bigger. So that kind of launch tempo is an attractive prospect if you think about it: if I just get this big spike of money even once a year, that's really cool. And then of course you can sell it later. What are some of the fears that might stop you? Jo: I held back from doing a Kickstarter for years — almost a decade, in fact — where I backed campaigns and resisted doing a campaign for my own books. Here are some of my fears. Prepare to face your fears Jo: This entire experience thrust me out of my comfort zone and into a new way of creating, launching, and connecting with readers. Pilgrimage is my first memoir, my first special hardback with colour photos, and my first Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. So I had a lot to learn. The book is very personal and I bare my soul about some dark times, so that was terrifying in itself, let alone trying a new product edition and publishing platform. On the evening I clicked the launch button — and yes, you have to actually click an actual launch button — my heart was hammering out of my chest. I have not felt that nervous since probably the first time publishing on Amazon. I was afraid of failure. I was afraid of being embarrassed if my campaign didn't fund. I wrote a book on marketing — how to market a book — so I would be mortified if I had not funded. In fact, I even changed my target from £5,000 to £1,000 the night before, as I was so terrified it wouldn't fund. I was afraid of getting something terribly wrong and ending up out of pocket through issues with printing and shipping. I was afraid of letting backers down by promising something I might not be able to deliver. I was afraid I had overcommitted myself to a whole load of work I might even resent doing. I am a one-person business, and although I work with freelancers, I still do pretty much everything myself. I am a control freak — you might have noticed. So yes, there was a lot of apprehension and fear. You don't have to go huge Another fear might be the fear of failure — that you'll put up a campaign and no one will buy from you. But one answer is just to do a modest campaign. You don't have to do special hardbacks or merchandise. As Russell says: Russell: Somehow all of the teaching that we have given over the last two years has been executed in a way that makes it seem like you have to do this enormous campaign with sprayed edges and big, beautiful hardcovers and interior illustrations and vellum and all of that stuff. And I want to say first: that is absolutely not true. You don't have to do any of those things. If you look at two of the last three campaigns I've done, all I was offering was paperback books and ebooks, and then audio commentary for one of the campaigns. You can do a Kickstarter — and I often will tell people, especially if they're not an already successful author — do a campaign that is small and easy to get data on before you do something big. The direct connection is actually the point Jo: One of my resistances to this was a sort of, “Oh, I'm actually going to have to do a more higher-touch thing.” But as you say, the reframe is: oh my goodness, this is amazing, because I actually do get to connect with people. Just yesterday I sent a signed book — Pilgrimage, which I did my last Kickstarter on — and this guy was like, “I bought it for myself. Can you sign it to me, because I'm going to do the Camino in a wheelchair?” And I was just so touched. Emailing him back, I just felt, oh my goodness, I'm having a connection with this person that if they'd just bought a book on Amazon, I would not have had. So now it's almost like — it's this totally different view of my business, which is that direct-first means a much more personal way. It really is like we're in that thousand true fans moment that we first talked about 20 years ago. Were my fears realised? Jo: Just to recap, I was afraid of failure and embarrassment if I failed to fund, of getting something wrong and being out of pocket, of letting backers down, and of overcommitting myself and resenting the workload. Really, the only thing that happened was overcommitment and a lot more work than I expected. But the time I put in was also likely the reason for the campaign's success and the reason that the other things didn't happen. I had to learn a new platform and a new approach to publishing and book marketing, so it was kind of a mini degree at the same time. So yes, I will do another Kickstarter — but only for special projects that are suited to this kind of intensive campaign. Tips for campaigns In this section, Oriana shares her thoughts on rewards, and then I'll go into some more of my tips. Thinking beyond merch Oriana: The rewards are really at the heart of the Kickstarter proposition and what makes this kind of fundraising so interesting and thrilling. Basically, your process is you're inviting people on a creative journey. You're saying, “I'm going to make this cool thing. I want your support, and in exchange, you're going to get stuff, you're going to get to be part of my process.” Obviously your main reward is going to be your book, or your series, or if you're a publishing company, your season — whatever it is. That's your main tier. Then you're going to build everything else out above and below that. A lot of people think rewards means swag and merch. Which is fine, but merch can add a lot to your production costs. It's causing you to learn how to produce all kinds of things that maybe you've never done before. So that's not the only way to do it. If you're going to do some merch, I think it's nice to come up with some custom items that feel really related to the work that you're doing. If you've got a romance novel with a pivotal scene on the beach, maybe you'd make some candles that smell like the ocean. Maybe you do some kind of handkerchief that's printed with the pattern of the dress your heroine is wearing. Digital and experiential rewards Oriana: But you can really think beyond merch into digital rewards and experiential rewards. There are a lot of parts of the writing process that can be pulled out and packaged as rewards — things like notes from the field, outtakes, deleted scenes. I've had people write bloopers, as if it were a comedy movie, added new scenes or novellas, other pieces from different works that you've done. Certainly your backlist and other books you've written can all be included. We've seen people do tours of the writer's studio, things like that. Also think about what skills you have in addition to your writing. Perhaps you're excellent at marketing or social media or poetry — you can offer webinars on those sorts of things. Other kinds of ways that people can experience your creative practice. High-end and naming rewards Oriana: Then you can get into high-end, one-off, crazy rewards. One whole section of rewards I love is naming rights. We've seen all kinds — “We'll name the dragon after your dog, or after your mother-in-law. We'll name the hero after your son.” There's a LitRPG novelist named Matt Dinniman who does this really well. He writes these big-cast novels — there are dungeons, and you're in an intergalactic reality TV show with hundreds of characters. In his last campaign, for $666 he would kill you off in his next book, and for $777 he'd let you live and write a whole scene around you personally. You can also do book release parties. You can do book clubs. If you're writing children's books, you can do colouring pages or supplemental material for teachers or other educators. The sky is really the limit, and it is based on your creativity and the things that both you can make and that your audience wants. This is another opportunity — talk to them. Ask them: if I'm going to do a piece of swag, would you rather have an enamel pin or a makeup bag? If I'm going to do alternate covers, would you like the blue cover or the red cover? See what your people are interested in, and then figure out whether it's possible for you to deliver it to them. Learn about the platform from experts Jo: I've been publishing and selling books through online retailers, as well as my own store, since 2008. I know what I'm doing, but I still had a lot to learn. With Kickstarter, it's essentially a completely different ecosystem, with different rules and a different audience, so you have to learn the ropes. Even if you're super successful in other places, you might crash and burn on Kickstarter unless you understand how it works and change your approach accordingly. Start backing campaigns Jo: See how it feels to back Kickstarter campaigns and discover what draws you in as a reader and a fan of specific things. You might find projects you love outside of books — there's plenty of other projects outside of books. You can browse the publishing category to find new books, and also use the search to find things you might like. In this way, you can support fellow creators and learn how the Kickstarter site works for discoverability and marketing. Make sure you go through the Kickstarter.com resources — they have a creator pack which will give you direction on the campaign. Also, their terms of use are really important to read, as there are some assumptions you'll have because you've published on another platform that are incorrect. So do not assume you know what you're doing if this is your first campaign. Ask for feedback before launch Jo: Once you have a draft of your campaign, ask specific people to review it before it launches. You can share a preview prior to launch and get feedback on your page. This helps you refine your story and the rewards, answer any questions before the campaign goes live, and it can also help pique the interest of your audience. I asked specific people who had done Kickstarter campaigns for help at different stages of the process, and this was really useful too. Review common mistakes from other campaigns Jo: If you examine how others made mistakes, you can learn from them. The most common seem to be: Not finishing the book before the campaign Getting the financials wrong for production, shipping, and any other rewards. I know some authors who have ended up breaking even, or sometimes even out of pocket from campaigns. Don't do that. Not making the most of the story sales page and not including everything necessary, so backers don't understand and don't want to support the campaign — essentially, not being clear enough Setting unrealistic goals, like expecting to make six figures on a first campaign Not allowing enough time for everything Not seeking feedback from people who have done it before Not marketing the campaign enough Overpromising and under-delivering Poor communication with backers about the status of rewards Set aside more time than you think you need Jo: The campaign ended up being far more significant than I expected in terms of workload and time to complete. Everyone told me that beforehand, but it was still a surprise. It took time to prepare the multiple editions for the rewards. I usually produce an ebook, paperback, and a large print edition, and I narrate my own nonfiction audiobooks. But for this Kickstarter, I also wanted to do this special hardback with colour photos, a flyleaf cover and silver foil. I wanted to create a special print product I could be proud of. I'm proud of all my books in terms of the content, but the usual paperback print-on-demand books are more about the content than the true beauty of the product. For Pilgrimage: A Book of My Heart, I wanted a special edition, so I worked with Jane on the design, going through my photos from the various pilgrimages to find those that resonated with the content — for example, the cadaver tomb at Canterbury, and my Compostela from the Camino de Santiago. Once we finished, I had that proof copy rushed so we could turn around everything. And I love, love, love the hardback. It has a silken-finish cover and it feels lovely and weighty. The pictures came out well, as the paper is of a higher quality and weight to allow for colour printing. Overall, I am incredibly proud of the finished product. I even sent a copy to my mother-in-law, which I have never done before. And yes, she thinks it's good. I definitely should have allowed more time, as I spent most of the Christmas and New Year period working on the book, recording and editing the audiobook, and preparing for the campaign. I also didn't have time to prepare, record, edit, and produce the Writing Setting and Sense of Place course until after the campaign, and it was really hard to find the energy to do this afterwards. Building the campaign page Jo: It took time to build the Kickstarter campaign page, create the video, and incorporate feedback. Most authors don't write sales pages anymore. Sure, we write a sales description for the book page on the retailers, but we don't often do a whole page for multiple editions. On Kickstarter, you are basically writing a sales page for your campaign, which they call a “story.” Some of your existing audience might just click through and back the campaign without reading it, but most backers will check out the details to find answers to any questions they have. It is a very long page, and you also need a video — or you don't need one, but it's highly recommended. It's best to record the video at the last stage when everything else is done. You can still see my Kickstarter video on my campaign page, so I won't go through everything in detail. But the key aspects are: Who the campaign is aimed at Why the campaign is important to me and the book What products are available Pictures of everything — the page should be really visual — and I included the images in the video as well Sample chapters and sample audio Specifications, with weight, pages, listening time, table of contents About me, the author Stretch goals Add-ons Any questions, risks, and challenges So it's pretty long. Then the reward levels have to be set up carefully for each pledge level with shipping costs, and specific details about what's included. Eventually, I felt like my page had way too much information, but since I didn't really get many backer questions, I guess it did what it was supposed to do. I rewrote and edited that page so many times — adding and changing the order of things, responding to feedback, switching things around. But hopefully I can use that as a template for other campaigns. Marketing takes time too Jo: It took time to prepare the marketing for the campaign. I'm pretty low-key for most launches these days — I publish a book, send a few emails to my lists, announce it on the podcast, do a little social media, update my websites, and move on to the next book. So this was probably my biggest effort in terms of a launch since my first novel back in 2011. I only had a two-week campaign, so I needed to make the most of that window. I'm going to detail the marketing in a separate section, but it took a lot of time to prepare the various things and execute them, as well as keep the energy up for promotion during the campaign. Two weeks was definitely the longest I would want to do — I was really over it by the end. Delivering stretch rewards Jo: It took more time to create and deliver the extra stretch rewards I promised. Since I had pretty low expectations of funding, I set my first stretch goal at £10,000 for “Lessons Learned from Writing a Travel Memoir.” When I promised it, I thought it might be a few pages of tips, and I didn't even think we would get there. But I'm incapable of delivering something that is half done. So when we did hit £10,000, I wrote essentially a short book on the topic, which I then formatted as an ebook and recorded as an audiobook. I'm actually going to turn that into a proper book at some point, so the content will get reused. But that definitely took more time than I expected, because I hadn't prepared it in advance. The backer spreadsheet and fulfilment Jo: It took time to figure out the backer spreadsheet and check all the fulfilment details. Once you finish your campaign, you send out surveys for mailing addresses and to fulfil rewards. I also needed to turn the backer report into a printing order for BookVault, and that was nerve-wracking. The spreadsheets were different formats, and then we spot-checked the orders to make sure people got the right books based on their orders. I was petrified that some people might get the wrong book, and I checked and checked and checked — both on the spreadsheet, and then once the orders were loaded, I checked BookVault as well. I was worried I'd have to resend the right book, which would end up with me out of pocket because they'd have to do double printing and shipping. But thankfully, all the checking made everything good, and I haven't heard from anyone who got the wrong book. Following up with backers Jo: It took time to follow up on failed payments and address issues. Most backers were easy to deal with — they received the updates and Kickstarter emails, they filled in the surveys, and I didn't have any problems. But there were problems with about 5% of backers, most of which were not their fault. There were failed payments when banks thought Kickstarter might be fraud. There were missed emails because of issues with deliverability, so backers didn't receive the rewards, or they didn't fill in the survey and return their address, which meant I couldn't do the order with BookVault — I had to do it later or manually. I had to follow up with every single one of these, some of them multiple times, and I slowly reduced my list of outstanding backers. A tip: If you back a Kickstarter campaign, please log on to Kickstarter a few weeks after the campaign has finished and check for updates. It's possible that you're not receiving the emails from Kickstarter, and the creator may need details from you in order to fulfil your pledge. Tax implications Jo: It took time to figure out the tax implications. This is not legal or financial advice, and your taxes will vary by jurisdiction. Please ask your accountant how you need to treat Kickstarter or any other book-related income. Wherever you are in the world, you will need to pay tax on the income, because we all have income tax, but the complicating factor is whether you also need to consider sales tax. And this definitely differs by jurisdiction. I went to my accountant, who said we should handle it as per any other book sales. I followed my accountant's advice, which treats backers the same way as my customers who buy on Shopify. Ask a professional in your jurisdiction about taxes and finances, even if you are in the UK. I cannot answer any questions. I'm not an accountant. Closing the loop Jo: I haven't had much time to do anything else, as I felt like I couldn't start anything new until everything in the campaign was finished. As soon as the campaign window closed, I felt like I had an open loop in my brain. I desperately wanted to close it in order to say the project was done. I have now delivered all the book and course rewards, and these lessons learned are really the last part of it. I've talked before about the different kinds of energy you need as an author — starting energy, pushing-through energy, and finishing energy. Once the campaign was funded, my finishing energy kicked in and I was driven to get everything finished as soon as possible. I sent the digital rewards out within a few days of the campaign closing, and also shipped the unsigned books, ordered the print books, then went and signed them, and then recorded the course. It has been my primary focus for the last few months, and I haven't been able to do much else except the podcast, which is my weekly commitment to you. Once again, I should have blocked out the time. Bonus tip: Don't plan an international speaking and book research trip during the campaign. International shipping and fulfilment Jo: Be careful with international shipping and fulfilment of signed books or products. Shipping costs can sink your campaign if you get them wrong, so be very careful with this area. I have sold books in 175 countries, and this podcast has a listenership in 228 countries, so I really wanted to have a completely international campaign. I wanted to ship Pilgrimage in any format to any country. Originally I thought I would just charge a bit extra for the book and include shipping. But once I set the book editions up at BookVault and I had the weight and dimensions sorted, I started checking the shipping costs to different countries. For example, we lived in New Zealand for seven years — my husband is a New Zealander, so we go back — so I definitely had to sell in New Zealand. And of course the shipping to New Zealand is very, very different to the US, for example. It is crazy how much shipping costs vary. I discovered I couldn't just assume it would all wash out and I'd end up making a profit somehow. I had to be a lot more careful with the calculations. So I focused on my biggest markets, which in terms of my book sales are the US, UK, European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. I added a note on the campaign to say I would add any other country for print shipping if people contacted me. As it turned out, no one asked for any other countries, so that was the best way to go in the end. If you're in a country where the shipping is outrageous — if you're willing to pay for the shipping, then that's absolutely fine. It's just that for the campaign, I had to focus. When the unexpected happens Jo: Of course, you can try to prepare for everything and then something unexpected and out of your control happens. A big spanner in the works for my campaign was the Russian hack, which took down the UK Royal Mail just before my launch. If you're not in the UK, you wouldn't have heard about this, because in some ways it's a very small issue — but it basically took down Royal Mail and a lot of shipping went into flux. It specifically hit the international side, and other shipping firms ramped up to take the slack. But it made planning for the launch difficult, as the prices were shifting and I didn't know how delivery was going to work. Even for posting in the UK it was hard, because the mail offices were getting backed up. Once again, I'm grateful for BookVault's adaptability, because I could check different addresses and shipping prices even as things changed, and they added new providers for shipping. About 95% of my shipping ended up being within an acceptable range of what I charged. So do your research, weigh and measure your items so you can get exact quotes for each. Check what kind of packaging you need. If you're doing your own shipping, you have to actually type in the shipping costs per reward and per country — it's a lot of manual setup to get it right. But this is critical, so check and double-check — and in fact, I triple- and quadruple-checked, then went to sleep, and then the next day checked again. Having spent 13 years as an IT consultant prior to this career as an author, I will always remember and have learned from the fact that something just might not be working, and then literally if you just go away, go to bed, come back the next day, it'll probably just be working. Sometimes it actually works. So yes, I did that, and every time I checked, pretty much I found something I'd typed in that didn't quite match, because you also have to retype — if you include all the books in the add-ons, you have to type it again. I didn't stop checking until the day before the launch, and then it was right. I was happy, and everything seemed to be fine. Shipping is always a moving target Jo: Revisiting this section made me laugh, because as I record this, in the week before I launch Bones of the Deep, international shipping is disrupted again — by the war in Iran, and the Strait of Hormuz being closed, which is affecting fuel prices. This underscores yet again how important it is to check your shipping. Of course, you can add shipping on later — Kickstarter allows this, as does BackerKit and other services. But as a backer, a customer of people on the platform, I hate being asked to pay shipping later. And since I hate that myself, I don't want other people to feel the same way. So just add a little buffer in, as asking people to pay an extra dollar in their pledge is not that big a deal, but you being out of pocket for every book shipped may well be. Sacha Black on pre-launch and fulfilment In an interview I did with Sacha Black, who writes as Ruby Roe, in December 2025, we talked about her issues with fulfilment. Sacha does a lot of complex printing, shipping, and custom book boxes and more. Her last campaign made over six figures, but of course it had its challenges. Here's Sacha with some of her tips, and then Oriana to close out this section with some other mistakes. Sacha: The first thing is — even before you start your Kickstarter — the pre-launch followers are critical. A lot of people think, “Well…” I guess there's a lot of loud noise about all these big numbers about how much people can make on Kickstarter, but actually a lot of it is driven by you, the author, pushing your audience to Kickstarter. You need more pre-launch followers than you think you do. Lots of people don't put enough impetus on the marketing beforehand. Almost all of our Kickstarter marketing is beforehand, because we drive so many people to that follow button. The other thing we do is early-bird pricing. We get the majority of our income on a campaign on day one. I think it was something wild, like 80% this time was on day one, so that's really important. Fulfilment takes longer than you think Sacha: The second thing is, it takes so, so very much longer than you think it does to fulfil a campaign, and you must factor in that cost. Because if it's not you fulfilling, you're paying somebody else to fulfil it. And if it is you fulfilling it, you must account for your own time in the pricing of your campaign. The other thing is that the amount of time it takes to fulfil is directly proportionate to the size of the campaign. So you do have to think about that. The other lesson we have learned is that overseas printing will drag your timelines out far longer than you think. So whatever you think it's going to take you to fulfil — add several months more onto that, and put that information in your campaign. Reinvesting profit and exclusive rewards Sacha: The last thing — if you have some profit in the Kickstarter, because not all Kickstarters are actually massively profitable. They either don't account enough for shipping, or they don't account enough in the pricing. Thankfully, ours have been profitable, but we've actually reinvested that profit back into buying more stock and more merchandise, which not everybody would want to do if they don't have a warehouse. However, we do have one. We are stockpiling merchandise and books so that we can do mystery boxes later on down the line. It's probably a year away, but we are buying extra of everything so that we have that in the warehouse. So it depends on what you want to do with your profit. For us, it was all about buying more books, basically. The other thing to think about is: what is it that you're doing that's exclusive to Kickstarter? Because you will get backers on Kickstarter who want that quirky, unique thing that they're not going to be able to get anywhere else. But what about you? You've done more Kickstarters than me — what do you think is the biggest lesson you've learned? Tiers, bundles, and AI for planning rewards Jo: Well, I think all of mine together add up to the one you just did. Although I will comment — you said something like £75 per pre-launch backer. That is obviously dependent on your tiers for the rewards, so most authors won't have that amount. My average order value, which I know is slightly different, but I don't offer things like book boxes as you have — so a lot of it will depend on the tiers. Some people will do a Kickstarter just with an ebook — just with one ebook and maybe a bundle of ebooks — so you're never going to make it up to that kind of value. So this is important too: have a look at what people offer on their different levels of Kickstarter. In fact, here's my AI tip for the day. What you can do — what I did with my Buried and the Drowned campaign recently — is, you know, I'm happy uploading my book. I uploaded it to ChatGPT and said, “Tell me, what are some ideas for the different reward tiers that I can do on Kickstarter?” And it will give you some ideas for what you can do, what kind of bundles you might want to do. So bundling your backlist is another thing you can do — as upsells, or you can just do it like I did for Blood Vintage, where I did a horror bundle of four standalone horror books in one of the upper tiers. Bundling is a good way to do it, and also upselling your backlist is a really good way to up things. And also, if you do it digitally — for ebooks and audiobooks — there's a lot less time in fulfilment. Oriana on the biggest mistakes Jo: What are some of the top mistakes you see that mean the campaign doesn't fund, or there are other issues? Oriana: Totally. I mean, the biggest mistake I think authors make — or any creator — is overestimating their ability to reach their crowd. Making sure that your ambition matches your reach is the number one most important thing to come close to guaranteeing that you will be successful. If you're an emerging writer and you're still building your audience and you don't have that many followers or subscribers out in the world, you should not try to fund a multi-volume leather-bound omnibus. Do a real honest assessment of who's in your crowd, how to find them, what percentage of them are likely to support what you're doing, and then find a project that feels realistic based on those numbers. That's really the biggest thing, conceptually. Building a strong project page Oriana: As far as tips for a project page — again, back campaigns and look at what other people are doing. A project page can be either as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. You definitely want to talk about the book: what is in it, what you're writing. Do a trope card if you want — we're seeing those all over the site. Say what kind of book it is, and the specs: page count, trim size, cover design. Obviously if you're doing a special edition, exactly what sorts of bells and whistles, with a prototype if you can. But you can be really expansive from there. What are your inspirations? Who are your collaborators? What brought you to this work? What are some of the things that make you excited about your writing practice, your timeline, your budget? What made you choose these rewards and how you're going to produce them? All those sorts of things will make backers feel both more trusting that you will do the things you're promising, and just more excited to be part of your journey. Marketing your Kickstarter campaign Let's talk about marketing. First, a snippet from Oriana, and then I'll share specifics around marketing tips — many of which are useful if you're launching in any other way. Kickstarter's algorithm rewards attention Oriana: Being on Kickstarter will help you grow your audience, but it's definitely not everything. You really do need to bring your people first. Our algorithm works on attention, so any project that's getting clicks, getting backings, getting comments — our algorithm says, “Oh, people want to look at this. We will expose it to more and more people.” That means raising it up in search results, slotting it into various of the macros and carousels around the site. Our recommendation engine powers recommended projects on the top of campaigns and at the bottom of emails. We are doing a lot to make sure that projects are being surfaced to folks who want to see them. Talk about the book while you're writing it Jo: Talk and share about the book while you're writing it, even though you might not know what it will turn into. I always share my book research and projects in progress, so this was nothing new. But Pilgrimage was years in the making, so I had years of sharing aspects of it. I've shared pictures from every pilgrimage walk on Instagram at @jfpennauthor and Facebook at J.F. Penn Author, and sometimes Facebook The Creative Penn. I've talked on this podcast about each walk, and I've done solo episodes and blog posts about each on my Books and Travel podcast and blog. I also did a poll and shared my book cover design process, and then I did an article on why I ignored target-reader feedback in the end. All this meant that many in my community — including you listening — became aware of my solo walking and also my ecclesiastical interest, my architecture interest, and you enjoyed my photos along the way if you follow me on social media. So when I announced the launch, it was the culmination of years of build-up. Use the pre-launch page early Jo: Set up the Kickstarter pre-launch page as early as possible, and keep promoting it. You can launch a pre-launch page once Kickstarter has approved your project, and you don't have to have finished everything to make it available — just complete the personal and business setup, and fill in enough detail so they can verify your identity and judge the campaign to be real and within the guidelines, and not a scam or spam campaign. I started to promote my pre-launch page, and by the time we went live, I had people signed up on launch. Those people get an email from Kickstarter. Those people were responsible for my campaign funding within the first few minutes, and then taking it to 5x the target within the first 24 hours. Then I started to email my lists, and all of this type of thing. But it was those pre-launch signups that really kick-started — see what I did there? — the whole thing. The benefit of using Kickstarter for multiple projects is that previous backers are notified of your new project. This compounds the effect over time, and is why those who use Kickstarter successfully do multiple campaigns. Kickstarter SEO and on-platform marketing Jo: Kickstarter has its own ecosystem. There's a discovery algorithm that can help you find projects you might like as a backer, and there are different ways to search, but only certain aspects appear in the search. So your title, subtitle, and your header image need to be optimised so people can find you. Your story sales page needs to be clear, with a compelling pitch. People also have to want your rewards, so marketing has to be baked into the products you're offering and who you're trying to attract. Your video doesn't need to be a professional-level product, but it does need to connect with potential backers, so take the time to make a good one. If you've never made a video before, you will need time to upskill. Kickstarter also has social media. Use #KickstarterReads and tag @KickstarterReads. If your project funds quickly and has a good trajectory, you might get picked for the “Projects We Love” badge, which also gives you better discoverability. I got that pretty fast. You can also tag Kickstarter on social media and inform them of your campaign. Content marketing Jo: Content marketing is offering something useful or interesting or inspiring or funny or entertaining for free, in order to attract your target market so they buy your book. This might be an article or blog post, video, audio, podcast, social media, whatever. For fiction, it's usually a free book or a short story or other free examples of your writing that draw people in. Content marketing is my favourite form of marketing, as it is about attraction, not interruption. It also involves creating something in the world that lasts over time, as opposed to an ephemeral spike ad or a social media post that quickly disappears. Each has its place, of course, and I use them all. This podcast is content marketing, although it now also provides direct revenue in the form of corporate advertising and Patreon support. Thank you, patrons and advertisers — and I consider this to be part of my creative body of work. My Books and Travel podcast is also content marketing. Guest appearances for the launch Jo: For this launch, I did content marketing on my own sites and shows, as well as other people's, which I arranged and recorded in advance. I've also mentioned the campaign in the introduction to every one of these shows leading up to the launch and during the launch. I was on some podcasts: Sacred Steps with Kevin Donahue, Wish I'd Known Then… For Writers with Sara Rosett and Jami Albright, Travel Writing World with Jeremy Bassetti, and Into the Woods with Holly Worton. I also did several of my own. I did one on this feed. I did another on the Books and Travel feed. I also included two chapters from the audiobook on the Books and Travel podcast. All of these took time to prepare and produce, but each is a chance for another person to hear about the book. Plus, they're evergreen, and Pilgrimage is available for everyone to buy now, so I can point people at Pilgrimage on other stores. Use a redirection URL Jo: For all my marketing, I used JFPenn.com/pilgrimage, which I can redirect using the Pretty Links plugin on WordPress and point to wherever I want it to go. Before the launch, it went to the pre-launch page; then the campaign itself; and now it goes to the book page. Once I build a special landing page, it will go there. Depending on where you're listening will depend on where it goes, but that's JFPenn.com/pilgrimage. The URL needs to be easy to say out loud for use in podcast interviews and audio-first media. Email your list multiple times Jo: Some things change in book marketing — like the emergence of new platforms like TikTok — but one thing has stayed the same for decades: if you have an email list, you can always sell books. Your email list consists of people who have opted in to hear from you, so you can email them about normal launches as well as your Kickstarter campaign. I have two email lists: one for The Creative Penn around writing, and the other around J.F. Penn for my fiction. I emailed both lists multiple times at different times in the campaign. I use ConvertKit for my email, but there are other options for authors. Use referral links for tracking Jo: Use specific referral links for different aspects of the campaign for tracking returns. Kickstarter allows you to create different tracking links so you can link revenue to specific marketing events. For example, I used one link for my Creative Penn email list, another for my J.F. Penn email list, and yet another for my Facebook advertising. You can also add the Meta pixel and Google Analytics code to the campaign, which can also help with figuring out advertising. And if you don't know what those are, don't worry — you don't have to use them. Book images and social media Jo: I initially mocked up the book using cover images on MockupShots.com, and then resized them in Canva in order to create social media images. I later did a book photo shoot with the hardback in different places to give me more marketing assets to play with — all of which I will use over time as part of ongoing marketing. I prepared and scheduled social media posts to go out every day, and I did that in advance, primarily for Twitter at @thecreativepenn, my Instagram and Facebook at J.F. Penn Author, and also Facebook at The Creative Penn. It was a lot of work, but I really enjoyed it — weirdly — and I need to do more of this for my other books, especially as with Shopify, Facebook, and Instagram link directly into my store, so I can tag books. These days social commerce is a lot smoother through mobile, so someone can see an image on social, click through, and buy immediately. I also did some quotes from the book — so I did pictures, I also did quotes — and I blatantly used our cute British Shorthair cats, Cashew and Ramen, for marketing reasons. I use Buffer to schedule my social media, but there are other tools. I also asked some friends who are travel influencers to share the book, and I sent them the hardback in advance so they could review if they liked. Thanks to Sarah Baxter and Alastair Humphreys for sharing the book, and especially a big thank you to Anna McNuff, who gave birth to twins that week and still managed to share about Pilgrimage. Backer engagement and stretch goals Jo: Let's be clear — it was not natural for me to push a book every day for two weeks. I also felt awkward about engaging with backers multiple times, let alone the wider community who I was sure was sick of my book, but I did it anyway, as it was only a short campaign of two weeks. I sent four updates during the campaign to backers, some of which are visible to the public on my Kickstarter, and then I sent updates afterwards with delivery of the rewards. Although I did resist the stretch goals, as I mentioned earlier, I went with “Notes on Writing a Travel Memoir” and the backer live Q&A. I did scramble to decide on and deliver those, as I really didn't think I would need them — which is crazy. I had such low expectations of what I might achieve. But next time I would definitely plan stretch goals in advance and in more detail. Facebook advertising Jo: I did some Facebook ads for the campaign — although I should call them Meta ads, because they're also on Instagram. I primarily aimed them at my email lists and people who follow my pages, but also some wider reach using lookalike lists and walking interests. I used a tracking link, so I know that the revenue that came in through people backing it more than paid for the ads. So I would do more of this next time. Marketing things I didn't do Jo: I didn't try to get any press or traditional media attention, mainly because I would have had to approach outlets much earlier in the process. I didn't have the hardback finished until a few weeks before the campaign, rather than a few months before, which is when pitching for press is a better idea. I also didn't collaborate with other creators on Kickstarter, even though I knew other authors doing campaigns at the same time. A couple of people asked me about cross-promotion, but their campaigns were not at all related to Pilgrimage. As with all book marketing, there is only a point to cross-promotion if you target the same readers. I had intended to do some Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube Live videos, but I struggle with live videos in general — and especially when I'm tired — so I didn't go ahead with those. I might consider more of those next time. Do a survey for everyone Jo: My tip is — do a survey for everyone. As part of a campaign I previously backed, I noticed that I didn't actually need to do a survey for the digital backers, because they could just get the rewards if I emailed through Kickstarter. And sure enough, you can just email the BookFunnel links, the course discount code, etc., through the campaign. But this was a mistake. I should have done a survey for everyone. If you do a survey, you can get the real email, as some people use a cloaked email. You can also include a checkbox asking people if they want to sign up for your email list. Respecting backer data Jo: So while you do get the email addresses of everyone who backs your campaign in your backer report, you cannot just upload them to your email provider and start emailing them about your other books. Kickstarter's terms of use include the following: When you use Kickstarter, and especially if you create a successful project, you may receive information about other users, including things like their names, email addresses, and postal addresses. This information is provided for the purpose of participating in a Kickstarter project. Don't use it for other purposes and don't abuse it. This is about data protection and privacy laws. Basically, Kickstarter is the platform in this instance, and people have signed up to receive emails from Kickstarter, but not from you. All emails about the campaign go through Kickstarter, and you don't have permission to just upload that list to your own email system and start sending more emails. They have not specifically said they want that, unless they have in a survey with opt-in — which I didn't do. Of course, there are indirect ways to attract people to sign up for your list. My book Pilgrimage includes ways to hear from me further, so some backers will go on and sign up for my free thriller ebook at JFPenn.com/free, or my Author Blueprint at TheCreativePenn.com/blueprint. You can also do updates later, for example when you have a new campaign, and in this way Kickstarter acts as a different ecosystem for email. Should you consider a Kickstarter campaign for your book? Jo: To be honest — only if you consider this to be a career you want to invest in, and a platform you want to do more than one campaign with. If you just have one book or a couple of books, or you're just starting out, or you don't want to do marketing and connect with readers, then definitely don't do a Kickstarter. It is not some magic button that will make you money — like uploading to Amazon is not a magic button that will make you money. It takes time and effort to have a successful campaign. But if you do want to build a long-term author business, then selling direct should have some part to play, and Kickstarter is a great way to make more money per book and connect with readers. It's really only the beginning of the trend of authors selling direct, so don't worry — you can learn how to do this over time. Update for Bones of the Deep, my 7th campaign in April 2026 Jo: It was interesting to revisit my lessons learned and other people's tips, and really, there are only a few things that have changed. I love doing Kickstarter campaigns now Firstly, I absolutely love doing Kickstarter campaigns. I am not nervous at all anymore, and I am just so thrilled to produce gorgeous hardback editions of my books this way. I love delivering beautiful books and new stories or nonfiction to my readers. I love doing the discovery writing webinars and the coaching, and just in general, I appreciate the opportunity to publish this way. I feel like a “real author” — with beautiful hardbacks, doing a signing, getting photos and emails from readers who receive the books. Custom printing keeps expanding In terms of other changes, over the last few years since Pilgrimage, BookVault has expanded their custom printing, so now I have custom endpapers, sprayed edges, different kinds of foil, as well as the silken paper and the ribbon and photos inside. These gorgeous editions are my personal creative reason to keep doing campaigns. I love saying “I made this!” And over time, I would love to get all my backlist into special editions. A repeatable process I'm still doing similar kinds of rewards — the book in all editions — and it's all finished so it's lower stress. Even the audiobook narration is done, so I can fulfil immediately. There's just the live discovery writing webinar to do, and stretch goal Q&A and consulting sessions. I'm also doing bundles, and all my backlist gets bundled in the add-ons, so I have a repeatable process, which makes things easier. Using AI in production I'm using more AI, specifically in the images and video. I love making book images with ChatGPT and Gemini's Nano Banana, and story images with Midjourney, and I use ElevenLabs with my voice clone for audiobooks. I fill in all the details in the AI section of the Kickstarter page, so you can go have a look at that and model it as you like. Spike income, realistic expectations I still like the spike income — but to be clear, my campaigns have varied in terms of financial success, as would be expected given they are all so different. My highest was Writing the Shadow at over £36,000 ($48,000), and my lowest was The Buried and the Drowned, a short story collection, at just under £8,000 ($10,700) — not a surprise at how different they are, given the audiences. Together my campaigns have now made £105,868 (just over $140,000), which I am very happy with. And of course, that's just the beginning, as then I put the books on my stores — JFPennBooks.com and CreativePennBooks.com — and on the usual platforms. A sustainable launch rhythm I still like the project approach — the short-term campaign focus — as I am good at sustaining marketing energy for a short period, and then I can drop off again. As I discussed with Sara Rosett last week as well, it feels sustainable for my career, unlike constant social media or ads. Lower-key marketing this time around I'm putting a lot less energy into marketing in general, relying on pre-launch signups over months of build-up as I talk about my writing process on the podcast, then emailing my lists, announcing it here, and scheduling some social media. It's pretty low-key these days, and that is a happy thing. However, for this campaign, I am planning to run some Meta ads direct to the campaign page, since I have Claude Code/Cowork to help me set them up and run them and crunch the data — and that takes the strain off considerably. More campaigns to come I will definitely be doing more Kickstarter campaigns, most likely a nonfiction one next. I am so glad I was able to get over my fears and do that first one, and I hope that encourages you to consider what might be possible for you and your book. So, if you'd like to check out my campaign for Bones of the Deep — even if you don't want the book, you can always model the sales page, or check out the book trailer — it's at JFPenn.com/bones. That link will go to the Kickstarter campaign from 20 April until early May 2026, and will then redirect. The post Kickstarter Tips for Authors: Rewards, Shipping, Marketing, and Lessons Learned first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Are you tired of the hustle-harder approach to book marketing? What if a quieter, more creative strategy could work just as well — and feel a whole lot better? How can special editions, physical letters, and library outreach bring readers to your books without the daily grind of ads and social media? Sara Rosett shares her low-key approach to marketing, direct sales, and the creative business of being an indie author. In the intro, dealing with uncertainty, and Becca Syme's Quit books; The Successful Author Mindset; Building resilience and the creative lies that writers tell themselves [Wish I'd Known Then]; On Writing – Stephen King; Big Magic – Elizabeth Gilbert; This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Sara Rosett is the USA Today bestselling author of over 30 books across 1920s mysteries, cosy mysteries, and travel mysteries, as well as nonfiction for authors. She's also the co-host of the fantastic Wish I'd Known Then podcast. In this episode: Why low-key, personality-driven marketing can be more sustainable than aggressive advertising How to pitch your books to libraries using a simple email strategy The pros and cons of special editions, physical letters, and Kickstarter campaigns Shifting from retailer-first releases to direct sales through a Shopify store Co-writing nonfiction and the power of series bundles for reader discovery Drawing creative inspiration from other industries and international storytelling trends You can find Sara at SaraRosett.com and at WishIdKnownForWriters.com Transcript of the interview Jo: Sara Rosett is the USA Today bestselling author of over 30 books across 1920s mysteries, cosy mysteries, and travel mysteries, as well as nonfiction for authors. She's also the co-host of the fantastic Wish I'd Known Then podcast. Welcome back to the show, Sara. Sara: Hi, Jo. Thanks for having me. It's great to be back. Jo: It is great to have you back. You were last on the show five years ago, around February 2021, and we talked about writing a series — and you have a great book on that. But first up, give us an update. What does your author business look like right now, and what are you up to with your writing? How Sara's author business has evolved Sara: Well, it's changed a lot. I sat down to think about this and I thought, yes, I have got into direct sales. I've done Kickstarters. I have a Shopify store now. I've really shifted from releasing first on the retailers. I don't really do that anymore. I've done some special editions, some physical things — I'm sure we'll talk about those later. Still doing the podcast with Jamie, the Wish I'd Known Then podcast, we're still doing that. I also have a Mystery Books podcast, which is an episodic podcast that comes out in seasons. I do a short season, about one a year, so I keep doing that. Writing some nonfiction. I did the trope book with Jennifer Hilt for mystery and thriller. And writing-wise, I've created a spinoff, a short spinoff in the 1920s series. I'm still loving the 1920s timeline. But I've slowed down a little bit on the releases. Busy, but good. Jo: Busy, but good. All right, we're going to get into all of those things. Although I must say I had forgotten about your Mystery Books podcast and going to seasonal. I also had my second podcast, Books and Travel, which is now on a kind of hiatus, but going to a seasonal approach is actually really interesting. Do you find that listeners come back to that podcast? The power of a seasonal podcast Sara: Yes, and it surprises me because I've always thought you have to be weekly with a podcast to gain any traction at all, which I think is the best way to do it. You can build an audience quickly then, but I just knew I couldn't sustain that. So when I set out, I started with maybe seven to ten episodes and I did them each year — each year has had a season — and I do five to ten episodes. Readers find it, and I have highlighted specific books. I think maybe they're searching for a podcast about the Thursday Murder Club or something like that. They find it that way, and I get downloads, just steady downloads throughout the year, and I don't do much. I do some Pinterest pins for that, and that's about all I do. This is one of those things — it's the kind of low-key marketing that's low threshold, but it does work. I think if your readers are looking for stuff to listen to about the topic you write about, it could be a good way to do some low-cost, long-tail marketing. I love it. I keep doing it because I love it. Jo: That's great. Low-key marketing that fits your personality Jo: As you mentioned, I really wanted to talk to you about this low-key, non-hype marketing. We've met in person a number of times, and I think we're quite similar — we're quiet, reserved. We are quite low key. I just put content out, and yes, I do some paid ads or whatever, but I just don't find the hype marketing something I want to do. I like the attraction marketing, and I feel like I do intuitive marketing. So how does your low-key marketing fit with your personality? Sara: Well, I did try some of the more promotional marketing. I tried to have a street team back when I heard authors talking about that. I thought, oh, I'll do a Street Team, and that doesn't really match with my readers. My genre — that's just not a thing that happens a lot there. So I backed off of that, and I've tried ads. Not really interested in those. I'm not really good at them, and I don't really want to get good at them. So I've searched for ways that I can find readers that don't rely on ads. I've really focused on my newsletter, and I have two of those. I have a main one that goes out to my readers who sign up in the back of the book. And then I have a New Release in Historical Mysteries newsletter that goes out about twice a month most of the time. That's just curation. I'm saying, hey, these are the new books that are out. I feel like those are easy to do. They fit with my personality, which is like, here, let me give you some information about what's going on in this genre. I do newsletters, the promo sites, the smaller promotional paid ads — I do those occasionally. I have a rotation that I go through, and I try to get a BookBub. If I can, that's great. I've just done things that are leaning into what I feel comfortable doing. Pitching books to libraries Sara: A lot of it is finding small sites where I haven't run an ad. Let me see if there's anybody who wants to sign up or get a free book through me here. I've done some BookFunnel marketing, where you can join the group promos. I like those. And I've reached out to libraries because I feel like my books appeal to libraries. They like the 1920s historicals. It's an easy way to reach people — it's attractive to libraries. So I had a list of libraries in my state, and I have an assistant who helps me out. She emailed down the list. She picked a few every week and messaged them and said, hey, this is a local author. She lives in this state. Here are some books you might enjoy from her. And I have, because of you, large print — I got into that when you started talking about large print a couple of years ago. So I have large print case laminate books that libraries like. I just do things like that, things that are not the norm. Hardly anybody is talking about marketing to libraries. But I try to do that. Sometimes I'll just think of something. I was at the library and I thought, wow, look at all these hardcover case laminate books they have in this large print section. Maybe I should try that. And then I search out and try to figure out if I can do it. Jo: And just for people who don't know, case laminate is a hardback. Sara: Yes. Jo: That's really interesting. You mentioned the libraries and the list. Was that a list you were able to buy? I remember years ago I had someone on the show who was doing that kind of thing. Or was it that your assistant had to go through and find all the libraries, find an email address, that kind of thing? Sara: I think I found it through Sisters in Crime, which is a mystery writers' organisation, and I think they had a contact list — you could get libraries and bookstores in your area. I think I started with that and then just research. And I'm sure now with AI, you could put in where you are and say, in a radius of 250 miles, what is near me? And you could probably get a great list. Jo: Absolutely. And when the assistant is emailing, is it just information about you and then saying, would you like to buy? Because you have a big backlist, and we don't want to be sending loads of expensive hardbacks to libraries unless they're actually going to buy. What's the process to actually sell to them? The library email approach Sara: I wrote up an email and introduced myself. I leaned into the “I'm local — I live in the same city or state that you're in.” Then I described my most popular series and said the first book is this. I put a link to a PDF that they can go look at. I think it's on my website, and they can go see the books. They can print that out, of course, and it has the ISBNs. I make sure they know they can order them from Ingram, and that's all I do. Then when I had a new release, we switched it up and put that at the top. But I have all the books in the series so they know it's a series. Jo: That's fantastic. I love that. Set-and-forget promotional marketing Jo: A lot of what you were talking about was newsletter, email marketing, some ads, but nothing aggressive — as in you're not monitoring it every single day. The email pushes, like a BookBub or free books, bargain books — you can book it and then it's almost set and forget, isn't it? You don't have to log in every day to check the results. Is that what you mean? Sara: Yes. And I like those because they are set and forget. You just have to remember to drop the price and then reset it on Amazon, and then they send it out to their list and hopefully you get some traffic from that. I like that much better than Facebook ads, because with ads I feel like you have to go in and monitor the comments and check on how they're doing. It's a more full-time type job. If you're doing a lot of ads, it's a couple of hours — for me anyway, because I'm not very savvy with it and I'm not as experienced. So it would take a long time to increase my knowledge there. Jo: To be fair, both of us have had many years when we could have become experts, but the fact is it doesn't suit our personalities. I am now working with Claude Code a bit more to do Amazon ads, but even then we go in once a week and Claude does a few things and then we log out again. I'm not doing this daily stuff, and I may eventually get back into doing it for Meta. But in terms of what I mean by low-key marketing — it's lower stress when you don't have to do stuff every day. And I guess what you're doing with the Mystery Books podcast, with the library pitches, with the batching — is that what you're doing? Putting aside time for marketing occasionally? Sara: Yes. And that's what I do. I'll think, oh, I haven't checked Kobo promos, so let me go check that, because I do use those too. I'm wide, so I'm trying to find things that bring my books to readers everywhere. I use the Kobo promos, I use Kobo Plus, I use Draft2Digital to get digital books into libraries. I'm always running — if they have a library sale anywhere, I sign up for it and I just do these occasional things. It's not every day, and I like doing things in phases. I like doing a special edition and working on that and then being done with that and putting that away and going back to writing or whatever. I don't mind doing promo for a little bit, but then I don't want to do it every day. A project-based approach to the author business Jo: We are similar in so many ways. I also have this project approach to life and business. If I'm writing a first draft of a new book, pretty much everything else goes out the window. Sara: Yes. Jo: Exactly. I just don't have the bandwidth. I'm not in that head space. And then, as we record this, I've got a Kickstarter coming up for Bones of the Deep and yesterday I did the book trailer, and I'll do the push for the Kickstarter and then I'm just going to stop. Sara: Well, the positive way to look at that is it's focus, right? We can focus for two weeks or a month or whatever — two months doing a Kickstarter or whatever — and then we're done with it, and then we move on. Jo: That just seems more sustainable to me. I didn't like doing everything every day or every single week. Sara: Me either. I like switching it up, and I do enjoy the different phases of writing. I like the research and then I like doing the — well, I don't like the drafting that much, but once I get a draft done, I like the editing. And then when it comes time to promote it or do a special edition or whatever, I enjoy that part. Finding whatever I'm going to use for the interior photos and stuff — just things like that. I enjoy each phase and I like switching it out. Jo: I think that's really good. Some people think this writer's life is you write new words every single day and you manage your ads every single day. That seems to be what some people do, but that's certainly not us, is it? Sara: No. And that's great if you want to do that. I just don't want to. And I think we've come to the point now where each person can do this as they want. Hopefully people don't feel the pressure to meet these self-imposed deadlines or parameters that don't exist. There's no rules for writing or publishing. You can do whatever you want. Social media — or not Jo: Let's just mention social media then. What are you doing for that? Sara: Not much! Jo: Nor me! Sara: I'm dabbling in Pinterest because I think that could have the longer tail. I do a little Instagram, but that is about it. And I really considered just leaving it altogether. I'm never on Facebook. We were talking earlier about saying no, and I don't want to join any more Facebook groups. I don't care what information they have. I figure I'll hear about it on a podcast if it's great. I think social media has changed so much. In the beginning, it was great — you could find readers. Now it's just much harder to connect with readers there. I want to have a presence so that if people go look for me, they'll find my books and hopefully find a link to download a free book and read it or an audiobook and listen to it. Then they can get on my newsletter and connect with me there. That's my philosophy. Jo: I think so too. I am on Instagram @jfpennauthor in that I do post pictures there, and even very recently I've discovered how to do a reel, which is just hilarious — I'm only about seven years late. But I don't check my DMs, so if anyone messaged me on Instagram or Facebook, I'm just not getting them. Sara: I know. And I feel like there's so many places people can connect with you. I put up a post on Facebook and said, I'm not going to be here much anymore. If you're looking for me, you can find me on Instagram maybe, or sign up for my newsletter to really stay in touch. Jo: I think that's what we have to do. But our idea of this project-based approach to the author life and the author business doesn't suit social media, because the people who are really good on social media are on it multiple times a day, creating content multiple times a day. It just suits some people and not others. Sara: I do things and I take pictures and think, oh, I'll put this on Instagram. And then I don't ever do it. One time we went on a road trip and I took a bunch of paperbacks and dropped them off in the free little libraries. I took a picture at each one and I never posted those ever. I ran across them years later and thought, oh yeah, I did it but I didn't post it on social media. That's just not my thing. Special editions and physical design Jo: Although you did just say that you like doing the art and the photos, and you've done some beautiful special editions. You've done letters, you do a lot of physical design for your books. So talk about that — why you're doing that, why it's fun, and the pros and cons, because it can be a time suck and a money suck. Sara: Yeah. I think you have to figure out where your gauge is for that, because you can go all in and do everything for the special editions. I've come to the conclusion I'm going to survey my readers before I do another one and say, what do you really like about them? Because I do mine and release them on my Shopify store first — is it just that you're getting it first, or do you like all the bells and whistles? I enjoy doing the endpages and the ribbon, and I've done character art for them. But since my books are set in the 1920s, there's a lot of photos from that time period that are available. In Deposit Photos, you can go in and search for those. The last two books I did, I used photos that I thought captured what the characters would look like. That was a lot of fun to find and just include photos instead of character art. And it was a lot faster than waiting for character art too. The pros are that it's fun and you get to do things you don't normally get to do — finding beautiful illustrations for the endpages, doing the sprayed edges, just making it really special. Storytelling through letters Sara: I enjoy doing things that you can't do on Amazon. You just can't do letters on Amazon. With both Kickstarters, you could get three physical letters in the mail. They were a story told through letters, and they had art. The first one was black and white, and then the second set was colour. Since then, I've done colour, and it's a challenge to write those because it's a totally different type of writing. It's a 1,000 to 1,500 word little snippet, and where you end is important so that readers will be looking for the next one. Including art — whether it was a map, illustrations of what the view looks like, what the house looks like. Not that I illustrated it — I had somebody else help me do that. It's fun to think about how stories can be told in different ways. I love novels, but 70,000 words is a lot of words. That's a big project. Sometimes it's nicer to have a shorter project. The letters were shorter and a shorter time investment. I enjoyed them for that. For the cons — it's just a longer ramp up to get it going. If you want to do a special edition or letters or book boxes or anything like that, just estimate how much time you think you need and then multiply by three or five, because it's going to take so much longer than you think. Would you agree with that, with your special editions? Jo: Yeah. Although I think now I've got a process for it. Although, I did my book trailer for Bones of the Deep yesterday, and it reminded me — the book trailer is 30 seconds, and it took me nearly ten hours! Sara: I do believe that though. I completely believe it. Jo: Because I'm a bit of a control freak. I love working with Midjourney. I say I think I'm a control freak — of course I am. We all are as indie authors. But I'm a very visual author, and you sound like you are as well. I see the book, and if I'm generating pictures of the characters or the ship or what happens in the storm or whatever, then it needs to look like what's in my head. So I end up generating and generating, and then I did music and then — yeah, it's very creative, but it takes a heck of a long time. From Kickstarter to Shopify store Jo: Coming back to your letters and your Kickstarters — I did go check. It's been a while since you've done those. Have you changed to using your Shopify store, and will you do another Kickstarter? Sara: I may do another Kickstarter. I do feel like I found new readers on Kickstarter. That's a pro definitely — people will see your work that maybe would never see it on Amazon. It's a much smaller pool to stand out in. Whereas on Amazon there are thousands and millions of books, on Kickstarter there might be five historical mysteries or two at that moment. So it's easier to stand out. I'll probably do another Kickstarter, but to me it was difficult with the prep that went into it. Then the launch, and the launch kind of stressed me out. I know we talked to you on our podcast before your first Kickstarter and you were a little stressed, so I'm not as stressed as I would be with the first one. But it is a lot to prepare, and I do feel some pressure that I want this one to do well. And then the fulfilment — I like to do things in phases, so I felt like it was hard for me to move on to anything else while I was waiting for the books to arrive, because I didn't feel done with that until I had sent out the books. It just seemed like it took quite a bit of time. So with my next release, I thought, I'm going to launch this on my Shopify store and see how it does. I still did the special edition and I still did a lot of the things I learned to do with Kickstarter, like emailing my list a little more often and highlighting these special things. And coordinating with a couple of other authors in my genre to say, hey, I have a book out and it's a special edition — you might be interested. And then share their stuff when their book comes out. The first one I did, I had the book sent to me. I signed them, packed them, and sent them out. But the second one, I said, to save time and money, we were just going to do a digital signature. I had them shipped directly from Book Vault to the reader, and that just helped simplify things so much. Launching on my store, I didn't see quite as many sales or bring in quite as much money as I did on Kickstarter, but it took a lot less time. I feel that was a good trade-off. It simplified the time it took to do it, so I was able to get back to writing more quickly. The second one I launched on my store as well. I've done the spinoff series on my store — it's a three-book series — and I'll probably do the third book on my store too. Then maybe when I go back to my original 1920s series, which is the one that does the best and is my most popular, I may go back to Kickstarter with that one. I think it's nice to have the choice to launch on my store or Kickstarter. I can choose — do I have enough time to do it the way I want to on Kickstarter? Scarcity, direct sales, and training readers Jo: I feel like launching on my store, there's less of a time pressure. We don't really have scarcity in our business, and the only way to make it scarce is to have a limited-time offer. Which to me, Kickstarter by its very nature is a limited-time offer. Obviously it's easier for me because I'm near BookVault, so I go up there and physically sign the books, and I like doing that occasionally. But I hear you with the direct store, and I also presume it trains people to buy from your store. So how has your revenue shifted from the big stores like Amazon, Kobo, to Shopify, Kickstarter, direct sales? Sara: It's shifted a lot. I do the Shopify store just like I do everything else — in phases. I'm like, hey, I have a new release. Go buy it at my store. And I have a lot of sales. I also launched a third set of letters last year around October, leading into November. I said, you can get this series of letters — two a month all year in 2026. Go to my store, sign up for it, buy it there. They'll be launching in December. I push it, I talk about it. I do a podcast about the letters or the special edition on Mystery Books podcast. I ran a couple of ads, got the word out, saw some sales, got everything done, and then it just kind of tapers off. What I need to do is continue to market it, especially to my list — hey, did you know I've got these bundles? Did you know you can get bundles of paperbacks or audiobooks over here from me at a discount? I need to work that into my newsletter strategy. It's kind of like I use it in phases. I still have books on all the retailers and still promote those and link to them. But that's not my focus now. If I'm going to send traffic anywhere, I'm going to send it to my store. My mindset is more on direct sales and the special things I can do — the special editions, the unique things they can only get from me. I'll still do a BookBub if I can get one, and push that to the retailers. The smaller newsletter sites — I use those to reach readers there. But my focus is definitely on the special editions and doing things on my store that you can't get anywhere else. Beyond ebook, audiobook, and paperback Jo: A lot of people, new authors particularly, are thinking about ebook, audiobook, paperback. And all of those you can get anywhere — for both our books, you can get them in those formats anywhere. And large print as well. I have large print paperback, and I actually remember, it was probably five years ago when you were here and you mentioned large print hardback. And I was like, oh yeah, I should do that. Of course, I never did. You can't do everything. Sara: You can't do everything. Jo: You can't. But I think you probably can do a large print hardback on Amazon now with KDP Print — you can do hardback — but none of them are as good quality as the printing we get elsewhere. Also, as you say, all those special things — you actually can't sell them on Amazon. People can sell them secondhand or whatever, but you just can't do that. So I think that's the creative fun of having your own store or doing Kickstarters or selling direct — just all the other fun things that satisfy us creatively too. Because it's not all about the readers, is it? Sara: Right, because we want to be enjoying what we're doing. We don't want it to be a slog. Jo: What's the fun in that?! How long Sara has been an indie author Jo: Just remind us how long you've been doing this now. Sara: My first book came out in 2006. It was traditionally published, and I had a series of ten books with a traditional publisher. Then as that one was getting near the end, I was experimenting with indie — was a hybrid for a while. Then I went all indie pretty much. Jo: In what year? Sara: That was probably — I think my first indie book came out in 2012. So for a while I was trying to do indie and a traditionally published book, and that was very — I felt like I was torn in all kinds of different directions. I thought it was going to be so much simpler just to do this all myself. Maybe not, but — Jo: Pros and cons, as we said. Co-writing the Mystery and Thriller Trope Thesaurus Jo: One of the things you've done recently is co-written a Mystery and Thriller Trope Thesaurus with Jennifer Hilt, who's been on this show as well as your show. Tell us about co-writing, because I don't think you've done much co-writing. Sara: No, I hadn't. That was the first co-written book I'd ever done. And it was a great experience. Jennifer Hilt made it so easy. She has several books in this Trope Thesaurus series, so she had a format and we just used her format. We took the tropes and divided them up. She took half and I took half, and we went off and wrote on our own and came back together and then we would trade. It was really easy. I don't know that this is the way co-writing usually goes, but we did have a contract and we started out with all the normal things — a plan and a contract. We had to decide who was going to coordinate everything for the cover and the copy editing and all that. When we got done, we used Draft2Digital and did the payment splitting, which made that part easy. It's been a great experience, and I think it's just because Jennifer has done this before and she's really easy to work with. I highly recommend co-writing if you can find somebody like Jennifer who's already done it and can take you through the system. Jo: I think that's the point — if you have someone like Jennifer who has a layout, it's a bit like the For Dummies series. I had an opportunity to do something with them at one point, and it's so formulaic in terms of doing it, and then you're filling it in. Clearly Jennifer's managing that really well. The co-writing I've done with various people has been pros and cons, but it's not been in an established series. I love that you say that, but just to warn people — that might not be your experience. Sara: Yes. And I think it's so much about personality and how you work together, how you each write, and your deadlines. If you try to set a really close deadline — we pushed our deadline out. We had planned to do a Kickstarter with the launch of the trope book, and then she ended up moving and I had a bunch of stuff going on. We were like, you know what, that's fine. We won't do a Kickstarter. And it was okay. You just have to figure out how it's going to go. And if you have someone that's flexible when you need to be flexible, that's so important. Jo: Adjusting is the reality of life, isn't it? And I feel like the Trope Thesaurus — it's not going to necessarily have a spike sale and then disappear. It is an evergreen book, right? Sara: Yes. People will find it when they find the series. It's not something that has to be pushed during a certain time period and then we're done. It's a long-term, evergreen type book. The role of series and bundles Jo: Talking of series, you've obviously got multiple series. People should definitely go look — you've got great branding and your series are so clear. What part do series and bundles play in marketing in general, and in your direct sales? Sara: I like to bundle them for my direct store because I figure I need something special about my store — a reason for people to go there. They can get the books on Amazon and Audible and Spotify and all these places, so why would they go to my store? I've really leaned into bundles for the store, so they can get a three-book audiobook bundle or the whole series in pretty much all my series. They can do the paperback bundling. I've done a paperback starter series bundle where they can get each book one in my first three series bundled together through Book Vault. I thought I really need to do that with the audiobooks. That's on my list — to create a starter audiobook bundle. Bundles do well on Kobo. They draw readers in over there. And for the rare times I can get a BookBub, I think bundles seem to appeal to BookBub. If I'm going to pitch something, it seems like they like bundles. Readers like them too. Part of it is the convenience. You've got the whole series together and you can just read one after another. You don't have to go find it and figure out what order they're in. Jo: They do. And I love offering bundles in the Kickstarter as add-ons and on my Shopify stores as well. Because I'm always surprised — somebody's just found me and then they order the 13 ARKANE thriller paperback bundle, and I'm like, okay, wow. That just feels like a win. Sara: Yes. I love to see those come in and you think, oh, I wonder how they found me. Why they would dive in with the seven-book series. That's fantastic. Jo: It is interesting. With the paperbacks and the shipping, you drop some money for a complete print series. And then obviously it's usually a bit less on things like audio and ebook bundles, but it's still a real commitment. So yeah, everybody, we love bundles. Sara: We do. What Sara is excited about next Jo: I wanted to come back to the podcast, Wish I'd Known Then, which is brilliant. I often refer to it on this show. Hopefully we share quite a few listeners, and you and Jamie talk about industry changes, personal things. Given all the stuff that's going on, what are you excited about? What are you experimenting with? What changes are you seeing that you're enjoying? Sara: We appreciate the shout-out. Every time you give us a shout-out — and I do think we share a readership. I think you are our most frequently mentioned other podcast. We are always referring to you on Wish I'd Known Then. What I'm looking forward to is — I like seeing what other businesses or industries are doing and seeing if I can apply that to writing and books. That's how I came up with the letter idea. I saw some people doing that. I found out later there were some mystery-related mystery letter subscriptions, but I didn't know about them and they weren't well known. I thought, oh, I could try that. So I'm looking forward to doing more creative things that we haven't had the opportunity to do, but now we are going to have the tech and the fulfilment to do. Merch could be fun. I haven't ever delved into that. Translations — I didn't even mention translations earlier. I've done a couple of languages in my historical series, and I think it's really interesting the options we have now in translation. The books could go into so many more languages, so much easier. So I'm looking into that. Just reaching out and trying some of these new things that are on the horizon. You're much more futurist than I am. I'm much more about looking back at the past and going, oh, that was cool. Maybe we can do something similar, but different now. Finding creative inspiration from other industries Jo: That's interesting. How are you finding out that information about what other industries are doing? Because the curation of the information stream is hard for all of us. Sara: I don't know. I seem to run across things. I'm always reading and browsing online and seeing what people are talking about. I did see a post years ago about a company that was doing special edges — limited-edition special edges. When I saw that, I thought, oh, I wonder if I could do that. And I hand-stamped snowflakes on a Christmas book. Jo: Oh, I remember that. I actually bought a stamp. I got a (skull) stamp made. Sara: Oh, awesome. Jo: I never used it! Sara: Well, it's a lot of work. It takes time. But they're very special. Each one is unique, just like a snowflake. Each book has all these different types of snowflakes and ink colours on it. I'll see something and think, oh, I wonder if I could do that. And then I'm always consuming really quirky media. I'm into Asian dramas — Korean dramas, Japanese dramas — and I'm seeing trends over there for storytelling. The vertical dramas they're putting out, super short. I just wonder what that's going to turn into in the future. I'm not a video person, but in the future I think there could be short little videos that we could make of our books. That would be just crazy. I don't know that I would have the skills to do that, but we might be able to hire somebody to do that for us. Korean dramas and new storytelling trends Jo: There are lots of AI apps that are already helping with that. I do love making book trailers. And I have also thought about my short stories particularly — turning them into short videos. I've written a few screenplays, so I'm also thinking about that kind of visual-sized content. I also watch a lot of Korean shows. Sara: Oh, do you? Jo: I love Korean shows. Sara: Oh, we have to talk later. Jo: They're very good. I also like the Korean sports stuff and the cooking stuff, and they're just so good at hooking you in. Sara: Yes, they are. Jo: They are so good. Sara: They're really good at blending genres. And I've noticed with their storytelling, they're doing a lot of these stories they call isekai stories, where the main character falls into a story. I heard somebody talking about it, saying they think that's popular because we're so familiar with media entertainment — we kind of know where the story's going. So that's a new way. If your character falls into a fictional mystery and knows who the bad guy is and is trying to prevent a death or something, that's a completely different story than just a straight mystery. Jo: That's interesting. In a way, the LitRPG genre where the character goes into a game, or the character is in a game — I suppose it's got some relationship to that. But I think K-Pop Demon Hunters is like the most successful film and music and all of this kind of thing. It's clearly coming to more Western audiences. Sara: Yes. It's becoming much more mainstream than it used to be, I think. Jo: That's really interesting given that you're mainly a historical author. Are we going to get 1920s Korea? Sara: Oh, maybe. That's an interesting time period. Maybe my character needs to travel there. Jo: You have a travel series, don't you? Sara: Yes. I have a modern, cosy kind of travel series, and then in my 1920s series, it takes place mostly in England, but I have a spinoff with a character who's gone to Egypt, and I have three books set in Egypt. Jo: Well, you never know. Sara: I know. Maybe they need to travel. Jo: I love it. Okay, where can people find you and your books and your podcasts online? Sara: Thanks for having me. This has been so much fun. You can find me at SaraRosett.com. My store is SaraRosettBooks.com. You can find the podcast with Jamie and me, Wish I'd Known Then — it's everywhere, Apple, Spotify. We're even on Substack now. Yeah, that's where everything is. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Sara. That was great. Sara: Thank you.The post Special Editions, Seasonal Podcasts, and the Art of Low-Key Book Marketing with Sara Rosett first appeared on The Creative Penn.

There's a culture shift underway that most authors aren't seeing. Even traditional publishers can't figure out why their titles are resonating. If your book isn't selling, it could be a cover or craft problem, but it might be a zeitgeist problem.  In this week's episode, you'll hear from fantasy and LitRPG author Seth Ring. We discuss the biggest cultural shift in storytelling in two decades and what it means for your books.You'll discoverWhat's become of the morally conflicted anti-hero tropeWhat readers are tired of and hungry forA sure-fire way to write a story that resonates for this new zeitgeistThis cultural shift puts authors in a uniquely strategic place. If you want to make an impact with your writing and bring hope and change to the world through stories, it's your time to shine. Listen in or read the blog version to find out how.Blog Link: https://www.authormedia.com/the-cultural-zeitgeist-shift-thats-making-indie-authors-rich/AuthorMedia.social link:  https://authormedia.social/c/novel-marketing/the-cultural-zeitgeist-shift-that-s-making-indie-authors-richYouTube Link:https://youtu.be/zVz0pd-P3TUSupport the show